This project was a collaboration between myself and Nanako Era, Francesca Kazerooni, Liza Meckler, Molly Bloom, Erica Ellis, and Emma Siegel. All illustrations are by Emma Siegel. Please find the full publication at: https://medium.com/inclusive-research.
I've been working with an incredible group of researchers across the industry on "A Practical Guide to Inclusive Research," which centers the experiences of historically underinvested communities. Our first issue focuses on research with people with disabilities.
First, let's provide some context. What is inclusive research, and why is it so important– particularly for technology companies that have come to govern much of our everyday experience? https://medium.com/inclusive-research/introduction-a-practical-guide-to-inclusive-research-8a3c87375b0e
In this initial issue, we've chosen to focus on people with disabilities, and in this article, we describe how to center the experience of people with disabilities in your own work: https://medium.com/inclusive-research/centering-perspectives-from-people-with-disabilities-in-inclusive-research-b6a936bd651e
One of the largest challenges researchers face is getting buy-in from cross-functional stakeholders. We outline some ways to bring your team along to see the benefits of inclusive research: https://medium.com/inclusive-research/quick-tip-stakeholder-buy-in-for-research-with-people-with-disabilities-7937df45c89e
Once you've gotten your team on board, it's important to build relationships with disability communities and to carefully and considerately recruit participants that you build with, not for: https://medium.com/inclusive-research/reaching-out-to-disability-communities-for-inclusive-research-4af26cf5072a
Often, important inclusive research may be avoided due to daunting practicalities– making sure to get the accommodations, discussion guide, methodology, and consent options right. We hope that clear guidance will remove this hesitation: https://medium.com/inclusive-research/preparing-for-inclusive-research-with-people-with-disabilities-228ce2f8cb2e
Finally, once you've completed the preparation, it's time to run the study. Here, we cover disability etiquette and other considerations to ensure that your participants feel comfortable and valued throughout your research: https://medium.com/inclusive-research/running-inclusive-research-with-people-with-disabilities-e72927c51548
Sharing and synthesizing your findings in a thoughtful and inclusive manner is imperative for affecting lasting change to the team and/or product: https://medium.com/inclusive-research/inclusive-research-synthesis-and-share-out-b34cab35445c…. We hope these guidelines inspire and encourage more inclusive research!