Research Inclusivity: A Beginner's Guide to Working with Blind and Low Vision Participants
A person who appears to be blind or visually impaired works at a desk in what looks like a home office or study. He wears a light gray turtleneck sweater, dark sunglasses, and over-ear headphones. He sits at a wooden desk with a computer monitor, keyboard, and documents. Behind him is a large bookshelf filled with books. The setting appears professional and well-lit. His posture suggests he is actively engaged with the computer or documents in front of him, demonstrating a professional working environment.
Working with specialized research partners like P3 Technology has opened my eyes (pun intended!) to the depth of expertise required for inclusive research. While I have been steadily educating myself on the needs of those with vision impairments through IG creators (like Paul and Mr. Maple!) - in January I had the chance to work more directly with these patients and learned some valuable hands-on training.
While new to me, these considerations are what P3 Technology is known for. They are a research team that stands at the forefront of connecting major companies with traditionally underrepresented communities, like those who are blind or have low vision. Their specialized knowledge ensures research sessions run smoothly and yield valuable insights.
The Value of Expert Research Partners
P3 Technology prides itself on empowering businesses to break down barriers and create accessible, inclusive solutions, bringing unmatched expertise in conducting accessible research. Their deep understanding of both technical and interpersonal aspects makes them invaluable partners for organizations seeking genuine insights from this community.
They also know that designing products and services with disabilities in mind actually improve the experience for consumers, not just those with impairments - intellectual or otherwise.
Lessons from the Onboarding Process
In my role on this project, I was simply onboarding the participants ahead of their Zoom meetings; ensuring they were on time, could navigate the technology needed, and were prepared for their sessions. Will get into the details in a moment but the two things that I found the most successful were having patience and practicing a friendly customer service approach to the short time I had with them.
The Power of Patience and Personal Connection
During my onboarding sessions, I discovered that a customer service mindset made all the difference. Here's what worked best:
Greeting each participant warmly and establishing a friendly rapport from the start. Sometimes I needed to text or email them ahead of time to ensure they had the right meeting link or to gauge their on-timeness.
Remaining calm and positive when technical hiccups arose
Using clear, conversational language rather than technical jargon
Letting participants know they had my full attention and support. This assignment had me running multiple rooms at once and quickly learned a little transparency goes along way to maintaining their energy and commitment to the session.
Something else that was unique for me, was at times I could use my own hearing loss disability to practice empathy. My audio might have been cut out due to a hearing aid connection issue, or I had trouble following the closed captions between the screen reader and their own dialogue. Sharing that we both had challenges to overcome helped me build connection quickly.
Tech Testing Is Critical - Even for Tech-Savvy Participants
One of my biggest surprises was that even the most tech-savvy participants sometimes encountered unexpected challenges. Here's what I learned:
A participant who "uses Zoom every day" might still have audio issues this one time. That’s why we tested and joined sessions early to practice and clean up any issues.
Screen reader settings that worked perfectly yesterday might need adjusting today
What seems like a quick fix might take a few extra minutes to sort out
Having a backup communication plan (like textable phone numbers) ready is essential
Above all - tech issues make everyone cranky. Staying calm and talking them through solutions will help keep the participants in an open mindset for their session that’s about to begin. Our emotions may impact, or distract us, from the topic at hand. My goal when onboarding was to see (LOL) them through the set up for a successful session.
Caught Off Guard: Surprising Moments
One of the more obvious (in hindsight) issues that came up a few times, was that several of the blind participants (not just low vision or vision impaired) had the lights off in the rooms they were working in. While I know the lighting was not beneficial to them as a person, it was still helpful to be able to see them on camera, for their recording, and for any facial expressions or non verbal communication. Telling them to join in a "well lit area" was meaningless, I needed to make that judgement call when they first joined and offer tips like turning on a light or opening the room blinds, etc.
Other phrases I needed to be cognitively aware of (to avoid!) involved some level of vision ability that wouldn’t work in situations depending on vision levels:
Using visual-dependent instructions like "Do you see X" - do you see the share icon? Do you see the check off mark?
Describing what I see on my end, sending a screenshot may not be helpful for context without additional captioning and alternate text available
Sharing my screen to show someone navigation
Saying "click here" or "click there" without providing context about the location - or - using directional terms like "over here" or "up there" without specific landmarks
Referring to colors as the only distinguishing feature ("click the green icon")
Saying "it's right there" without describing the location
Using gesture-based instructions like "click where my cursor is"
Assuming everyone can see emoji or other visual elements in chat
Referencing visual cues like "when you see the green checkmark" without explaining what that status means
Using imprecise location terms like "in the middle" or "at the bottom" instead of exact navigation paths
Forgetting that terms like "obvious" or "clearly visible" might not be applicable
Instead, I learned to:
Describe elements by their function ("the button that starts the recording")
Use keyboard navigation references ("press Tab to move to the next button")
Provide step-by-step instructions with clear markers
Reference elements by their exact labels or positions in the navigation order
Describe status changes verbally ("once you've joined successfully, you'll hear...")
I struggled, like the participants, when the Zoom settings were not working as intended, or the screensharing experience was not as expected. One participant in particular had a large gray box overtop/overriding what was being presented but we could not troubleshoot the issue. Another issue with screensharing came up with Zoom’s settings if they had multiple windows open or which tab to highlight and show. Common best practices include starting over, which is what we’d resort to.
Looking Forward: Implementations for the Future
While my role was focused on onboarding, this experience taught me valuable lessons about creating inclusive digital experiences - from the invite, the pre-meeting communication and introductions, to the tech check and session hand off. Working alongside P3's expert team showed me how attention to detail and genuine care in the onboarding process contributes to successful research outcomes.
It's also great learning for the work that the IDEA Council is currently doing to better understand participant experiences within the disabilities community (where I’m a volunteer on two committees). We shared about experiences with those Deaf/HOH in this blog post, and have more research phases in the works to explore.
Most importantly, I learned that successful onboarding isn't about managing disabilities—it's about providing excellent customer service and creating a welcoming environment where every participant can start their research session feeling confident and prepared.
Working with P3 Technology has shown that even in brief onboarding interactions, we can make a significant impact on the quality and success of inclusive research. If you're interested in conducting research with a marginalized group, please consider reaching out to us or them directly (or email) to discuss your assignment needs. Thank you again to Tim for letting us work on this project!
