Accessibility
Taking part in research with a screen reader
A practical guide for screen reader users on completing online surveys, handling grid questions, and joining focus groups to share valuable feedback.
Global Accessibility Awareness Day: why research needs disabled voices
Global Accessibility Awareness Day falls on the third Thursday of May. It is a good moment to ask a simple question: when brands test new products and services, are disabled people in the room? Here is why it matters, and how you can take part.
Key points
- Disabled people are a large group of customers, and their experiences are often missing from research.
- When disabled people are left out of studies, products are designed around assumptions that do not hold for many users.
- Many improvements made with disabled users in mind end up helping everyone.
- You can tell Reward Hours about any support you need, and we will arrange it for studies you are invited to.
What Global Accessibility Awareness Day is
Global Accessibility Awareness Day, often shortened to GAAD, takes place every year on the third Thursday of May. It started from a blog post by a web developer who wanted more people to talk and learn about digital access and inclusion. Today, companies, schools and communities around the world use the day to test their websites, share knowledge and listen to disabled people.
For a research panel, it is a reminder that accessibility is not only about websites. It is about who gets asked.
The gap in research
When a company tests a new app, packaging design or service, it usually recruits a sample of people that reflects its customers by age, gender, region and income. Disability is often not on that list.
The result is research that quietly leaves out people who are blind or have low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with limited mobility or dexterity, people with cognitive or learning disabilities, and people with long-term health conditions. Sometimes they are excluded by accident. A survey that does not work with a screen reader, a focus group without captions or a product test with fiddly packaging can turn people away before they even start.
Why it leads to worse products
If nobody with arthritis tests a new jar lid, nobody notices that it is hard to open. If nobody who uses a screen reader tests a checkout page, nobody notices that the "Pay now" button has no label. These problems are found later by real customers, often at the worst moment.
Including disabled people in research early is cheaper and kinder than fixing problems after launch. It also gives companies insight they would not get any other way.
Better for everyone. Captions were designed for deaf viewers and are now used by millions of people watching videos on a quiet train. Ramps help wheelchair users, parents with buggies and travelers with suitcases. Research with disabled people often uncovers improvements like these.
What good inclusive research looks like
- Accessible tools. Surveys that work with screen readers, keyboard navigation, zoom and high contrast.
- Flexible formats. Text-based interviews, phone options, captions and sign language interpretation.
- Realistic timing. Extra time, breaks and no unnecessary time limits.
- Respectful language. Asking people what they need instead of assuming.
- Fair recruitment. Including disabled people in everyday studies, not only in studies about disability.
How you can take part
If you are disabled, have a long-term condition or care for someone who does, your experience is valuable in research about almost everything, from groceries and banking to travel and technology. You do not need to be an expert in accessibility.
On Reward Hours, you can add any access needs to your profile. This information is optional and is used only to make sure studies work for you. For example, you might tell us that you use a screen reader, need captions or prefer phone interviews to video calls. When you are invited to a study, we use this to arrange support.
If a survey does not work with your setup, please tell us. Every report helps us push for better design with the agencies we work with.
A few things to try today
- Check your profile. Add or update any support you need for studies.
- Try your device settings. Larger text, high contrast, screen readers and captions are built into most phones and computers, and they work on most surveys.
- Share your experience. If a survey or study was hard to use, tell our support team what happened. Specific details help us fix it.
Common questions
Do I have to tell you about a disability to join?
No. Telling us about access needs is entirely optional. You can join, take part and leave without sharing any of this information.
Will sharing access needs mean I get fewer invitations?
It should not. We use it to arrange support, not to exclude you. Some studies specifically look for people with lived experience of disability, so it can also lead to extra invitations.
Who can see my access needs?
Only the people who need to arrange your support for a study. It is not shared with research clients as part of your survey answers.
