What an accessible survey looks like

Key points

• Accessible surveys work with screen readers, keyboards, zoom, high contrast and voice control.
• Clear language, simple layouts and no unnecessary time limits help everyone, not only disabled people.
• Large grids, images without descriptions and videos without captions are common barriers.
• If a survey does not work for you, report it. Specific details help us push for fixes.

Why accessibility in surveys matters

If a survey cannot be completed with a screen reader, blind participants are excluded. If videos have no captions, deaf participants miss the content. If the survey times out quickly, people who need more time give up. Each barrier removes voices from the results and makes research less accurate.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day, held each May, is a good moment to look at what accessible survey design means in practice. Many of these practices come from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, known as WCAG, the international standard for accessible web content.

What good looks like

Every question has a clear label

Screen readers announce the label of each answer box and option. If labels are missing, a screen reader user may hear only "edit text" or "radio button", with no idea what is being asked.

It works with a keyboard

You should be able to move through the entire survey using only the Tab, arrow, Space and Enter keys. You should always be able to see where you are, with a visible focus outline.

Text can be resized

Zooming to 200 percent or more should not hide text or break the layout. Text should reflow instead of requiring sideways scrolling.

Enough contrast

Text and buttons should stand out clearly from the background. Light gray text on white is hard to read for many people.

Color is not the only signal

A scale that relies only on color, such as red for bad and green for good, does not work for people with color vision deficiency. Labels or numbers should accompany colors.

Images and videos are described

Images that matter to a question need a text description. Videos need captions, and ideally a transcript or audio description when visual details are important.

Plain language

Short sentences, common words and one idea per question help everyone, including people with cognitive disabilities, people reading in a second language and anyone answering on a busy commute.

No unnecessary time limits

Time limits should be avoided, or long enough for everyone, with an option to extend.

Helpful error messages

If you miss a question, the survey should tell you clearly which one and why, in text, not only with a red outline.

Mobile friendly

Large tables of options, often called grids, are hard to use on phones and with screen readers. Good surveys break them into single questions on small screens.

Common barriers to watch for

• Drag-and-drop ranking questions with no keyboard alternative.
• Sliders that can only be moved with a mouse.
• Image choices with no descriptions, such as "Which logo do you prefer?" with unlabeled pictures.
• CAPTCHA puzzles that rely only on vision.
• Pop-ups that trap keyboard focus.
• Auto-playing video or audio.

How to report a problem

If a survey does not work with your setup, please tell us. The most useful reports include:

• the name or link of the survey, or the date you received the invitation
• the device and browser you used
• any assistive technology, such as a screen reader and its name
• which question or page caused the problem and what happened

We pass these reports to the research agencies we work with. Many problems are easy to fix once someone knows about them.

What we do

We encourage agencies to test surveys with assistive technology, we share accessibility feedback from members, and we let members record access needs in their profile, as described in our earlier article on why research needs disabled voices. We also have guides on focus groups for deaf and hard of hearing participants.

Common questions

Will I lose my reward if a survey does not work with my screen reader?

Please report it to support. We will look into it and, where a technical barrier stopped you from finishing, we will do our best to make it right.

Can I ask for a survey in a different format?

For some studies, alternatives such as a phone interview may be possible. Mention this in your profile or contact us when you receive an invitation.

Do I have to say I use assistive technology?

No. It is optional. Sharing it helps us match you with surveys that work for you and invite you to studies that specifically need your experience.