Inclusive user research: building rapport

Posted on Friday, 23 May 2025 by Ela Gorla in Testing, User experience

Anyone who has ever conducted user research can appreciate the importance of building rapport with participants. When running inclusive user research, how can you build trust and mutual understanding with disabled participants?

Being able to connect with people and earn their trust is key for user researchers. It makes participants feel at ease, not be afraid of giving their honest opinion, and enjoy the session. This ultimately leads to richer, more meaningful research insights.

In our post Moderating sessions, we discussed the importance of showing respect to participants. Other than being the right thing to do, showing respect also contributes to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the people taking part in the research.

This post explores additional ways to build rapport with participants.

In case you missed them, here are the other blog posts in our Inclusive user research series:

Show care

First and foremost, we want people to have an enjoyable experience and feel like they are making an important contribution. In other words, we want participants to know we care about them and we value their help.

There are a few ways you can do this.

Firstly, approach every interaction with participants with care, beginning with the very first email or phone call. Consider every exchange as an opportunity to show your appreciation for their participation.

Secondly, make sure they are able to join the research session with ease by providing any support they may need ahead of the session. This will remove any anxiety they may otherwise feel, improving the overall experience. For example, for in-person sessions you could share detailed instructions on how to reach the research venue, and offer to meet people at the train station or bus stop. For remote sessions, you could email them clear instructions on how to download, install, and use the video conferencing platform.

Protect personal information

As researchers, we often have access to some of participants' personal details, such as age, telephone number, email address, and so on. In the case of people with disabilities, we may also have information on medical conditions they have or assistive technology they use.

Some participants may feel nervous about sharing this type of information. By showing them you will handle their data with care following best practices, you can alleviate their concerns.

As part of the recruitment process, provide participants with clear information on the data protection policies you'll follow. When doing that, make sure to use the simplest language possible; too often information on data protection contains jargon and legal terms that many people, especially those with thinking disabilities, may struggle to understand.

Also, make it as easy as possible for participants to confirm their agreement with your terms and conditions. Signing a paper or digital document may be difficult for some; provide another way to do the same, such as simply stating their agreement in an email.

Finally, check with participants they have no questions or doubts about data privacy at the beginning of each session.

Compensate fairly

As we all know, time is valuable. Participants should be offered a fair compensation for their time.

Whether it is cash or a voucher, decide on a fair compensation and let participants know about it early on in the recruitment process.

Best practice is also to assure participants they will receive their compensation regardless of the session outcome, including if the session ends earlier than expected. People should feel comfortable asking for breaks if they need one, or requesting to end the session if they feel unwell, for example.

Limit activities

Trying to cover too many tasks and questions in a research session can be stressful for both you and the participant. It is important to limit the amount of content to cover in each session.

When planning your research sessions, ensure you allocate sufficient time to complete all tasks, address key questions, and allow space for clarifications and follow-up inquiries. Keep in mind that some people with disabilities may require more time to process and answer questions or complete activities; you don't want to rush them. People should feel they can take all the time they need, and request breaks if they feel tired or need to take medications, for example.

Limiting the amount of content in each research session also allows for a relaxed, slow-pace conversation, which can help build rapport. And at times, you may feel like diverting slightly from the script and engaging in a bit of informal chat, which can make the session more enjoyable.

Remember, in inclusive user research, less is often more.

Ask necessary information only

In all research projects, it's necessary to collect some participants' personal information, both at the recruitment stage and during the sessions. In addition to following best practices around data protection (as previously discussed), limit questions to what is necessary only.

For example, you may need to know the assistive technology that people use, but you don't necessarily need to ask about the medical conditions they have; in some cases, it may be useful to know how long people have been living with a disability, but there is no need to ask how they've acquired it.

Being asked lots of personal information, especially at the beginning of a research session, can feel intimidating. By limiting personal questions, we show participants that we respect their privacy, which can help them feel more at ease. As the session progresses, it is common for people to start opening up and volunteering information.

When writing recruitment criteria or a test script, always ask yourself whether a piece of information is truly needed to answer the research objectives. If not, leave it out.

Don’t generalise

When conducting research with people with disabilities, it’s tempting to assume that one participant’s experience reflects that of other people with similar disabilities. For example, one might assume that if content doesn’t work well for one screen reader user, it won’t be accessible to any screen reader users. But this is not always the case. People with the same disability or using the same assistive technology can have very different experiences with a product or service depending on many factors, such as personal preferences or the settings they use.

It's also important to avoid asking participants about other people. Questions like "Do you think this content will work well for other Deaf people?" or "Would all screen reader users be able to navigate and understand this content?" are not useful and may strain your relationship with participants; they may feel they are being categorised based on their disability rather than being valued as an individual.

Don’t make assumptions

Similarly, assumptions based on someone's disability fail to recognise the uniqueness of each participant.

While it may be common to assume that those who are blind don’t appreciate images, or that those who are Deaf don’t enjoy music, these kinds of assumptions are often incorrect and reflect a limited understanding of the diversity of people’s preferences and needs.

Rather than making assumptions, ask questions. No matter how trivial or obvious the question may seem to you, participants will likely be happy to answer and share their experiences. Asking questions is a way to demonstrate curiosity and a genuine interest in learning about others, which is often very well received.

Appreciate the value of people's feedback in every session

When running inclusive user research, no two sessions are the same.

People's disabilities and the adaptive strategies they use can greatly impact their experience with a product or service. Also, symptoms associated with some medical conditions can vary on a daily basis, which can also impact the way people interact with products.

For example, fibromyalgia symptoms can fluctuate and change significantly from day to day. This means that a participant with fibromyalgia may be able to use a mouse and focus on tasks with ease in one session, and really struggle to use a mouse and need many breaks in another session.

As a researcher, it is important that you recognise these variations as representative of people's real life, hence valuable insights. Make participants aware that you appreciate their input and feedback in every session. People should not feel they are failing the researcher on days when they don't need to use assistive technology, or guilty when they need more breaks or more time to complete activities.

Keep in mind that people observing sessions may not be accustomed to such variability in participants' conditions and behaviours. You may have had someone commenting that "the participant didn't appear to be disabled", just because the participant's symptoms happened to be mild on the day of the research. It is important to explain this variability to stakeholders, so they can also appreciate the value of all sessions.

React appropriately

Something that can seriously damage our rapport with participants is overreacting to their stories or comments.

People with disabilities often face challenges or experience painful or debilitating medical conditions. While it's important to show empathy when someone shares their experience, you should never express pity. Showing pity may imply that you regard participants as helpless, which can be disempowering.

At the same time, avoid praising people for completing ordinary tasks, such as cooking, travelling, or working. Again, that can come across as patronising and can significantly harm your relationship with participants.

Simply showing you understand the challenges people face and appreciate the strategies they've developed is an effective way to maintain a positive, constructive relationship.

Summary

When running inclusive user research, building rapport with participants is key. Some considerations that may help you establish a positive and constructive relationship include:

Let participants know you value their help
Make it as easy as possible for them to join the session
Assure them you'll protect their personal details
Provide a fair compensation for their time
Limit the amount of activities in each session
Only ask for the personal information you really need
Never assume or generalise participants' experiences
Show empathy but avoid pity and ableism

Next steps

Looking for some support as you develop your skills in inclusive user research? Read about our User Research Mentoring programme or find out more about our Agile user experience testing service.