
Making Market Research Accessible: Best Practices for Disability Inclusion
Filed Under: Health Care Providers, Patients, Shopper, Associations & Non-profits, CPG, Healthcare, Healthcare Organizations + Nonprofits, Retail, Data Quality, Journey Mapping, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, UX (User Experience)

Brett Burba
Senior Manager, Qualitative Field Services
July is Disability Pride Month, and as we reflect on the importance of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it’s a perfect time to assess the accessibility of your research practices.
As of July 2024, more than 1-in-4 adults in the United States has a disability. With that in mind, whether we’re engaging study participants or presenting findings to stakeholders, it’s important to consider several ADA-compliant fundamentals when designing your next market research study:
Survey and Interview Design
- Remove ornamental formatting. Keep the format basic, clean, easy to read, and minimize the use of color.
- Flatten matrix questions. Instead of asking in a standard grid format, ask about each statement or attribute one at a time as an individual scaled question.
- Similarly, avoid sliding scales. Write a standard, scaled question instead.
- Tweak navigation tools. Ensure a participant can easily navigate through the survey using the arrows, tab, and enter keys, instead of relying on pointing and clicking with a mouse.
- Screen readers are paramount. While testing a programmed screener, enable a screen reader, like the free one from NVDA, and confirm that it accurately communicates all aspects shown on the screen.
- Offer flexible methodologies. For qualitative research, allow respondents to complete interviews via webcam or solely by telephone to accommodate their preferences.

Deliverables
- Enlarge the font (size 18 is a good starting point for presentations) and choose a sans-serif font, like Arial or Verdana.
- Use bold or italics to emphasize specific text rather than color.
- When the data calls for a particular shape, such as up or down arrows to indicate trending, use Microsoft’s built-in symbols instead of adding shapes or drawing them.
- Include section headers and graph titles to clearly introduce the start of a new idea or data set.
- Check the color contrast levels throughout. There are free color contrast analysis tools available to test text and background contrast, like the WebAIM Contrast Checker.
- Add Alt text to convey the information displayed in graphs, pictures, and other visuals.
These are just a few best practices C+R Research has implemented in partnership with its clients. The goal is to remove barriers that might hinder participation from members of the disabled community. Without participation, we can’t develop insights; and without accessibility, those insights lack representation. When your next project arises, ask yourself, “Is this set up in a way that allows everyone a chance to contribute?”
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