How to conduct inclusive user research that makes customers feel heard and valued

UX designers and product teams conduct inclusive user research to collect valuable data and feedback from people with varying needs and experiences. You then use this research to make your product, website, or app more accessible to all—leading to enhanced usability and a better customer experience (CX).

Read on to learn about inclusive user research: what it is, why it matters, and how to incorporate it into your research strategy to create a more accessible, empathetic product design process.

7 ways to conduct more inclusive user research

Inclusive user research is the process of including people from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences in your studies. These can include (but are not limited to) demographic factors such as

• Geographic location

• Industry

• Age

• Gender identity

• Sexuality

• Language

• Ethnicity

• Disabilities

• Visual or auditory impairments

• Neurodiversity

• Educational background

Accessibility in tech shouldn’t be an afterthought. Incorporating a variety of perspectives in your UX research ensures you create a user experience that works for everyone, which is great for your customers and your business.

Here are seven ways to run more inclusive user research from beginning to end—use them as standalone tips or together as a step-by-step guide.

1. Build your study with inclusivity in mind

Before embarking on your user research journey, you need to understand the people you’re trying to reach and the different ways your participants can show up. How can you connect with more of your target audience in ways that are engaging, convenient, and accessible for them?

For example, if you’re doing research for a product that targets the general population, keep factors such as neurodivergence, accessibility requirements, and gender-inclusive language front of mind when designing your user research process. 

If you were running sessions in person, this could look like

• Ensuring the location is fully wheelchair accessible

• Providing quiet spaces for participants who may get overstimulated

• Offering breastfeeding rooms or childcare facilities for parents

While this looks different when you’re working digitally, the same principle still applies: what can you do to make it easier for people to contribute to your research?

In practice, this might mean

• Offering multiple ways for people to get involved as a participant, such as joining a remote user interview session or filling out a survey to share feedback in their own time

• Scheduling a number of sessions, so that people in different time zones can join at a time that’s convenient for them

• Providing an agenda and overview of the questions you’ll cover beforehand, so participants know what to expect and can prepare accordingly

2. Recruit a diverse pool of participants

“As you approach a study, ask who isn’t in the room,” advises Sara Hefny, Senior Product Researcher at Hotjar. “Whose perspectives or experiences are missing?”

If you only invite users from a small group of people who are all similar, you end up reinforcing your biases—which also limits the impact of your research, because you miss out on insights from other potential users.

To counteract this, actively seek out participants from different backgrounds and experiences so you get a wider range of inputs and create an inclusive design that resonates with more people.

3. Acknowledge and challenge your own biases

As a moderator and researcher, you need to avoid bringing your own unconscious biases into the equation—but that can be tricky when they’re, well, unconscious.

To address this, Sara recommends listing out the assumptions you’re making about your participants and then structuring your research approach in a way that challenges those assumptions.

For example, if your assumption is “I assume that my participant is going to speak and understand English fluently,” how can you adjust your discussion guide so that your talking points are still usable even if your participant doesn’t speak English at a professional working level? 

In this case, you could simplify the language in the questions you’re asking or come up with alternative ways to ask a question if participants don’t understand it the first time.

4. Cater to any accessibility needs

Ensure users’ requirements aren’t a barrier to participation. Depending on individual needs, these requirements could include anything from a translator, assistive technologies such as a screen reader or real-time captioning software, or additional time for people to think about and process their answers before replying.

For example, when we wanted to understand users’ experience with the recently released Spanish and German versions of Hotjar, we decided it was important to give participants the opportunity to do the interview in their native language. This required translating the email communications and discussion guide, as well as ensuring we had native Spanish and German speakers who were willing to moderate the interviews. 

The result? Not only did this help our participants get involved more fully, but it also gave us crucial insights from our target audience that we otherwise would have been unable to gain.

5. Make interviewees feel heard and respected

It’s not enough to just invite people to participate—you need to create an environment where they feel empowered to contribute.

Of course, you still need to stay on track to get the insights you need to make decisions confidently. So how do you balance empathy with data?

Here’s a tip: if you feel that a conversation is veering off on a tangent, wait for a pause and then say, “This is really interesting! I’d love to get back to this topic later, but I have a few questions where your input is really important and I want to make sure I’m respectful of your time.”

This does a few things:

• It validates that what participants are saying matters

• It acknowledges that they haven’t finished their thought and provides the opportunity for them to re-open a topic later (though they usually forget all about it)

• It redirects the conversation to what you want to ask them

• It shows you care about their time

All of which allows you to empathetically and respectfully get things back on track.

6. Run usability tests to spot accessibility issues

Usability testing is a method of evaluating the functionality of a website, app, or other digital product by observing real users as they attempt to complete tasks on it. Many teams run tests for new products or prototypes, and then never again. Regular usability testing ensures there are no emerging issues as user needs evolve, your product grows, or new accessibility guidelines are proposed.

Usability tests can surface issues with your interface design or UX, like 

• Bugs

• Broken elements that result in frustration and rage clicks

• Confusing user journeys, such as unintuitive menus that make it hard for visitors to find the information they’re looking for

• Hard-to-understand language or icons

• Differences between desktop and mobile devices, or different browser versions

• Website accessibility issues like the color contrast ratio on your site

Regular usability testing also helps you monitor the impact of any adjustments you’ve made based on previous research so you can see how and where inclusive design is affecting your business for the better.

 7. Create an open feedback channel for everyone

In addition to conducting regular user research, create an ongoing open feedback channel that everyone can contribute to.

Many teams make the mistake of only asking for feedback at specific times, like when they’re preparing to launch a new product or when they’ve already noticed a drop in conversions. And while these are great, you risk missing out on ‘everyday’ things, like a hard-to-read font or a confusing help article.

By using a tool to capture user feedback whenever something occurs to your users or website visitors (and with minimal effort), you capture a diverse range of viewpoints 24/7—no invitation necessary.

3 benefits of inclusive user research

Inclusive user research isn’t just great for your customers and site visitors—it unlocks tangible business benefits that will impress your stakeholders, too. Here are three key advantages.

Design more accessible, empathetic products with inclusive user research

Building inclusive practices into your research process doesn’t have to be difficult or costly. With a little planning and a lot of empathy, you get more comprehensive insights from a wide range of users, so you can develop products and experiences that are accessible—and enjoyable—for all.