Summary
Characteristics like race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status can have a significant impact on how we experience the world, and how the world experiences us. In UX research, diversity is the first thing to vanish from the recruit when the going gets tough; I will talk about what we miss when that happens, and what researchers can do about it in their own practice. This presentation will demonstrate why a diverse recruit is imperative for a strong user research study, provide examples of what we miss when the recruit is homogeneous, and offering tactics for addressing the issue.
Key Insights
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Diversity in user research recruitment is crucial to understanding diverse user experiences.
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Demographic characteristics significantly influence how individuals navigate systems like healthcare.
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Researchers tend to prioritize visible demographic criteria over those that embody invisible social structures.
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Open conversations about diversity can lead to improved research practices and outcomes.
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Recruiters must be held accountable to ensure demographic representation in participant pools.
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Specificity in recruitment requests can lead to more satisfactory diversity outcomes.
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Diverse teams facilitate the identification of barriers faced by marginalized groups.
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Including diverse voices enriches the research process, producing more nuanced insights.
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Ignoring demographics perpetuates existing inequalities and hampers user understanding.
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Engaging with underrepresented communities requires effort and can uncover valuable user insights.
Notable Quotes
"Diversity in user research recruitment is not just a nicety; it's a necessity."
"When we ignore demographics, we risk perpetuating systems of inequality."
"It's essential that the voices we hear in research are as diverse as the user base we serve."
"Ignoring the impact of race and gender on user experience is to miss huge swaths of participant insights."
"We need to shift our perspective and adjust our practices to better reflect our users' demographics."
"Demographics can shape behavior and experience in significant ways."
"Stagnation in our recruiting practices does a disservice to the users we aim to serve."
"We can't pretend our participants exist separate from the identities society assigns to them."
"By centering the dominant characteristics, we misrepresent the needs of other communities."
"To truly understand our users, we must be willing to engage deeply with underrepresented perspectives."
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