Introduction: A Practical Guide to Inclusive Research
What is inclusive research, and why is it so important?
We believe that experience researchers and their partners have the power to engage communities that are not often asked to contribute to designs. We offer this guide with the hope of empowering researchers to be a part of the inclusive design process. After all, “design, as an intentional human intervention, is fundamentally an attempt to change something in the world” (Cassandra Hartblay, “Good Ramps, Bad Ramps”).
A Few Guide Disclaimers
- This guide was created from the perspective of experience researchers in tech working on specific platforms/products at US-based companies. Governments, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations may find this guide useful, but they may run into other challenges not covered in this document.
- This guide focuses on in-house research. That is, it provides guidance for researchers within companies to recruit participants and conduct research. This is different from research conducted in collaboration with vendors, who can recruit participants and run studies for a company.
- This guide is best suited to inform practices for research conducted virtually. Since the start of the pandemic, many of us have switched to virtual research. For in-person research, you will need to expand on and adapt these guidelines.
- This guide does not cover advice on how to conduct research on internal diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
- This guide should not be interpreted as legal advice. There are important laws researchers should be familiar with — for instance, laws about digital accessibility. Do what you can to learn about them, and work with your legal team when possible.
We also want to acknowledge that inclusion is a journey, not a destination. We are all continuing to improve and hone our inclusive research skills — don’t be discouraged if you make mistakes! As Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
The contents of this guide are by no means comprehensive — if you have any feedback, please feel free to reach out to us!
What is inclusive research?
“One important way to change invisibility is to seek out the perspectives of people who are, or risk being, the most excluded by a solution. Often, the people who carry the greatest burden of exclusion also have the greatest insight into how to shift design toward inclusion.” — Kat Holmes, Mismatch
“Inclusive research” describes experience research that actively engages populations that have been historically excluded and underinvested. (We have used the term “underinvested communities” in this guide—originally coined by Antionette Carroll, founder of Creative Reaction Lab.) As part of the “inclusive design” process, inclusive research seeks to challenge the assumption that all people experience our products in the same way. In this guide, we aim to cover best practices for conducting inclusive research that can lead to inclusive experiences.
Inclusive research seeks to minimize exclusion. There are many facets of identity that researchers may not consider. Some examples are:
- Ability status
- Age and aging
- Citizenship status
- Economic class
- Gender identity
- National origin
- Parent or caregiver role
- Race or ethnicity
- Religion or spirituality
- Sexual orientation
When these are not considered, “default” research participants may be homogenous and research may be unintentionally biased. It is also important to consider the intersectionality of identity — how multiple facets of identity and/or sources of oppression impact one’s experiences in the world. For instance, a white, middle-class woman who wants to be a software engineer might experience inclusion because of her whiteness and economic stability—easing her efforts to pursue an education and career. On the other hand, she might have experienced exclusion on her path to a tech job, from subtle suggestions throughout her life that she is less valuable than men. If she is blind, then she might face additional exclusion—for instance, if the assistive tech she requires is not readily available.
Why is inclusive research important?
As researchers and designers, we have a lot of power in what we study and co-create. Inclusive design and research require us to understand the consequences of the decisions we make. We must take full responsibility for what we put out into the world. Good intentions don’t matter when the technologies and experiences we build inadvertently exclude certain groups of people, especially those from underinvested communities.
While technologies can have a global impact, often, only a subset of people are represented within the teams that create those technologies. Technology and experiences can discriminate, oppress, target, harm, expose, erase, misinform, exploit, and limit. Inclusive research and design invite more perspectives and uncovers previously unseen consequences of exclusion. It provides the opportunity to equalize, protect, uplift, connect, foster equity, promote truth, mitigate bias, instill dignity, empower, and democratize.
What does inclusive research consist of, exactly?
Those working in research have the unique opportunity to shape the understanding of customers and communities of focus. This research should not be accidentally exclusionary: either ableist, racist, or sexist. Instead, inclusive researchers should aim to present a holistic view of the population—one that accounts for a spectrum of lived experiences (e.g., attending to physical, cognitive, and sensory needs).
But what exactly is inclusive research? The following are useful principles we’ve identified to help guide you in making your research process more inclusive:
- Think about inclusion early and often. Rebuilding a product with an inclusive lens can be daunting. However, if you bake inclusivity in from the ground up, you’ll find that you need fewer resources and less effort than originally anticipated.
- Recruit participants from underinvested communities. Be deliberate about your selection criteria for participants, reflecting on who is typically excluded from research so that their perspectives are included in your future work.
- Adapt research protocols to fit participants’ needs. Be considerate of the unique circumstances and needs of participants from excluded and underinvested communities by adapting your research to ensure their participation and informed consent.
- Work with, not for, underinvested communities. Go beyond participant recruitment by fostering relationships with organizations that represent underinvested communities so that your work is informed by members of the communities you include.
- Create a cultural shift. In partnership with stakeholders, take the time to not only understand underinvested communities, but also to advocate for them within your own organization.
- Choose whether to embed inclusive practices or conduct a standalone inclusive study. Decide whether you want to embed inclusive research practices into studies you’ve already planned out in your research roadmap, or if you want to conduct inclusive research studies on their own. This will dictate how you present your findings and get buy-in from stakeholders to act on your recommendations.
Getting Stakeholder Buy-In
Bringing stakeholders along throughout the research process is especially important for inclusive research studies, so that stakeholders can develop an understanding of the underinvested communities involved in the studies. Because these populations have historically been excluded from the product development process, stakeholders may not have had opportunities to hear feedback directly from members of those populations. (See the section entitled “Put stakeholders in your users’ shoes” in Nanako’s “Closing the Experience Gap” blog post for examples of including stakeholders in the research process.)
But how might you convince stakeholders to prioritize inclusive work? When getting buy-in proves challenging, it’s helpful to take on the stakeholders’ mindset and speak their language. Inclusion is not just social justice advocacy or philanthropy — it’s a best practice for business. The more you can do to show this to stakeholders, the more likely they will be to support your work. Here are some benefits of inclusive work that you can highlight to gain support:
- Increase profit and competitive edge. Inclusive product development will help to build products that more people are able to use. If more people are able to use the product, more people will use the product. Having more users means that the company will make more profits. Inclusive experiences give your product a competitive advantage.
- Expand reach and impact. When stakeholders are struggling to grasp the impact of inclusive work, we can try to quantify it for them. This can include clarifying the number of users that the product is currently excluding or the amount of revenue the product is currently missing out on. For example, when getting buy-in for research on racial minorities in the US, we might cite numbers around how many people in the US identify as a racial minority and are not able to equitably use the product as a result of their identity (racial biases may be creeping into the platform, leading to discrimination).
- Reduce timeline and resources. Investing in inclusive research early helps uncover more use cases and problems. For example, retrofitting for inclusion and accessibility after the fact can cost up to 100 times more over the lifecycle of a project. Sometimes it isn’t even possible to retrofit some functionality or features without redesigning or redeveloping core functionality altogether, which could compromise the entire project.
- Stay out of legal and financial trouble. Often, a non-inclusive product can lead to fines or lawsuits. For instance, there are different accessibility compliance requirements for products, depending on the sector. These laws and regulations differ across countries and regions. Though it might feel like inclusive research is costly and expensive, it’s worth pointing out that these practices can actually save the company thousands of dollars.
- Live up to your company values. Your company’s values should influence how you build your products and experiences. Tie those values into the case for inclusive research. Emphasizing these values can also help attract amazing new research and design talent who want to ensure that their workplace uses inclusive practices.
- Innovate. Lastly, it’s important to convey the possibility of innovation. We consistently see inclusive research and design lead to cutting-edge, ground-breaking opportunities. Use these constraints to unlock innovation. Oftentimes, this innovation also helps modernize the product.
To get more into specifics on responding to pushback against inclusive research, design, and accessibility, Workday’s team compiled their tips and experiences.
Ready for more?
For a deep dive on how to conduct inclusive research for people with disabilities, read on with Centering Perspectives from People with Disabilities.
