inclusion and diversity in critical UX research

inclusion and diversity
in critical UX research
Karine Larose
@karinenrose
she/her
Simon Bowie
@SimonXIX
he/him
CLAUD Summer Study Day
8th July 2019

introduction
Background
Exercise: Quiz
Theory
Disability and
intersectionality
Group exercise:
Reflection scenarios
Diversity in UX
research
Diversity in UX
community

introduction
Diversity: the presence of difference
Inclusion: deliberate actions
UX research: understand people
Critical UX research: acknowledge and
question systems of oppressions

background
“Governments must ensure the education system at all
levels is inclusive and geared towards supporting
disabled people to achieve their full potential and
participate equally in society.”
- Article 24 of The United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2017. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities: what does it mean for you? Published at
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/the-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-
of-persons-with-disabilities-what-does-it-mean-for-you.pdf

SOAS, University of London, 2018. ‘Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Annual
Report - June 2018’
<https://www.soas.ac.uk/committees/equalitydiversity/file134737.pdf>
background
comparison of
various regional
average statistics for
SOAS, University of
London students (UG
and PG)

background
breakdown of
student ethnicity for
SOAS, University of
London students (UG
and PG)

background
declarations of
disability by SOAS,
University of London
students (UG and PG)

background
breakdown of
declared disabilities
for SOAS, University
of London students
(UG and PG)

background
attainment by
disability of SOAS,

background
attainment by
ethnicity of SOAS,

Goldsmiths, University of London, 2018. ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Annual Report 2017-18’ <https://www.gold.ac.uk/media/documents-by-
section/about-us/EDI-Annual-Report-2017-18-v5.pdf>
background
comparison of
Goldsmiths against
sector student data
for UG, PG and PGR
2017/2018

Goldsmiths, University of London, 2018. ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual
Report 2017-18’ <https://www.gold.ac.uk/media/documents-by-section/about-
us/EDI-Annual-Report-2017-18-v5.pdf>
background
percentage of students
who have declared they
are disabled by
impairment type or
condition at Goldsmiths

Country of nationality First Language/s
UK English
China Chinese (Mandarin)
France French
Malaysia Malay, English
Italy Italian
Singapore Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, English
Germany German
Spain Spanish
Greece Greek
India Hindi, English
ethnic backgrounds
of students and
languages spoken
(UG and PG) at
universities in
London
background

quiz! Q1: Which of the following is
classed as a disability?
c. Acquired brain injury
b. Chronic pain
a. Depression
d. Migraine
e. All of the above

quiz!
A1: e. All of the above
Source: https://www.remploy.co.uk/employers/resources/a-z-disabilities

quiz! Q2: For a disability to be
covered by the Equality Act,
how long must the person have
had the condition?
a. 12 months or more
b. 5 months or more
c. 2 months or more
d. 1 month or more

quiz!
A2: a. 12 months or more
Source: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/discrimination/protected-
characteristics/showing-you-re-disabled-under-the-equality-act/

quiz! Q3: How many people have
hearing loss across the UK?
a. 11 million
b. 8 million
c. 5 million
d. 1 million

quiz!
A3: a. 11 million or more
(around 1 in 6 of the population)
Source: https://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/about-us/our-research-and-
evidence/facts-and-figures/

quiz! Q4: You see someone using a
wheelchair in the Library who
appears to be struggling. You
should:
a. Leave them alone
because you don’t want
to embarrass them
b. Offer to assist them
c. Assist them without
asking

quiz!
A4: b. Offer to assist them
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/nov/15/seven-things-you-
should-stop-saying-doing-to-disabled-people

quiz!
Q5: During a UX session, you (the interviewer)
are trying to listen to the answers of a person
who has trouble speaking. You are only able to
understand a few words. You should:
c. Avoid asking them to repeat because
you don’t want to offend them
b. Try to fill in the gap and
guess what they were trying
to say
a. Ask the person to repeat
what they said and repeat it
back to check what you
thought they said is correct

quiz!
A5: a. Ask the person to repeat
what they said and repeat it
back to check what you thought
they said is correct
Comment:
This is a good general rule but may not always be the best action in some contexts

quiz! Q6: You are giving a tour of the library to new
students and one student has identified as a
partially sighted person. Do you:
a. Grab their arms and during
the tour be specific with
verbal instructions and give
approximate distances
c. Ask the student to come at a later date/time
for a more accessible tailored tour
b. Ask what kind of help they
need, don’t hold on to their
arm but allow them to take
your arm if they want

quiz!
A6: b. Ask what kind of help
they need, don’t hold on to their
arm but allow them to take your
arm if they want
Source:
https://www.rnib.org.uk/information-everyday-living-family-friends-and-
carers/guiding-blind-or-partially-sighted-person

quiz! Q7: When talking about a student with a
disability with another colleague, what is the
appropriate language to refer to them?
a. A student suffering from...
b. A student who is a victim
of...
c. A disabled student
d. A special needs student
e. The disabled one

quiz!
A7: c. A disabled student
Source:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/inclusive-
language-words-to-use-and-avoid-when-writing-about-disability

quiz! Q8: Which students may not be able to use a
library search interface if they are not able to
change the default colours?
a. Students with eye strain
b. Students with Irlen
Syndrome
c. Students with dyslexia
d. All of the above

quiz! Q9: What percentage of disabilities are
unseen/invisible (i.e. no use of cane or
wheelchair or other visible aid)?
a. 74%
b. 50%
c. 30%
d. 68%

quiz! Q10: In which cases below can a university face
claims for discrimination or other reasonable
adjustments?
a. Denying a student a request
for an ergonomic chair during
seminars and exams
b. A student with visible physical
impairment who was openly
referred to in a derogatory manner
using jokes by the tutor during
class
c. A student with ADHD is banned by
their tutor from asking too many
questions during lectures
d. All of the above

quiz!
A10: d. All of the above

Charmaz, K., 2014. Constructing grounded theory. 2nd edition.
London: Sage, p. 1
“Stated simply, grounded theory methods
consist of systematic, yet flexible guidelines for
collecting and analyzing qualitative data to
construct theories from the data themselves.
Thus researchers construct a theory ‘grounded’
in their data.”
theory

Drabinski, E., 2019. ‘What is critical about critical librarianship?’, Art
libraries journal, 44 (2), p. 49 <https://doi.org/10.1017/alj.2019.3>
“Critical librarianship acknowledges and then
interrogates the structures that produce us as
librarians, our spaces as libraries, our patrons as
students, faculty, and the public, whose
interface with the sum of human knowledge is
produced, in large part, by us.”
theory

Drabinski, E., 2019. ‘What is critical about critical librarianship?’, Art
libraries journal, 44 (2), pp. 51-52 <https://doi.org/10.1017/alj.2019.3>
“Librarianship, at its beating heart, is about the production and
reproduction of structures and systems. These systems include things
like our cataloging and classification systems, technologies like the ILS
and the OPAC, as well as frameworks, standards, and guidelines that
govern the performance of reference service at the desk and online as
well as the what and how of classroom teaching in our libraries. Critical
librarianship is concerned with who determines what those systems look
like and how they work, and who is excluded from those processes.
Critical librarianship asks who benefits and how from the development
of standards of all kinds.”
theory

http://openwashing.org/
introduction

Karine & Simon
theory
Systems
workers
Academic
libraries
Library UX
community
LIS
White
supremacist
capitalist
patriarchy

Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation, 1975. ‘Fundamental
Principles of Disability’, discussion held on 22nd November 1975
<http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/UPIAS-fundamental-
principles.pdf>
“In our view, it is society which disables physically impaired
people. Disability is something imposed on top of our
impairments by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and
excluded from full participation in society. Disabled
people are therefore an oppressed group in society.”
disability

Andrews, P., 2016. ‘User Experience Beyond Ramps: The Invisible Problem
and the Special Case’ in Priestner, A., and Borg, M., eds. User experience in
libraries: applying ethnography and human-centred design. Abingdon:
Routledge, p. 111.
“I can smell the café, which is serving food and
coffee. I can smell the toilets, which are
disgusting. I can hear a thick wall of noise that
buzzes around my head and makes me feel
woozy. The lights are harsh.”
disability

● Intersectionality is a framework designed
to explore the dynamic between co-
existing identities and connected systems
of oppression.
● The term was coined by Kimberlé
Crenshaw in 1989 and challenges an
assumption continuing to undermine the
feminist movement.
● The experience and challenges of white
disabled women /= black disabled women
/= disabled transwomen.
disability and intersectionality

Why is intersectionality important when we do UX research
● We need to acknowledge that academia remains deeply challenging for
disabled students.
● Limitations of the UK’s equality and diversity policies with regards to
multiple protected characteristics.
● The UK is the second most popular study destination worldwide. As of
2017/18, 458,520 international students were attending university in the
UK.
● When we take into account intersectionality, we can highlight the
multiple oppressions that shape the lived experiences of ALL disabled
students.
disability and intersectionality

In small groups, discuss real life scenarios of
how the library (policies, decisions,
environment) affects disabled users.
Think about how disabled users are
affected, why there is a need to change, and
what are the potential solutions in these
scenarios.
reflection on disability

Scenario 1
Sunil is an international 1st year undergraduate student, in the Social, Therapeutic and Community
Studies department. Although Sunil had an initial hard time adapting to university life for the first
weeks due to language barriers, he is keen to get involved with his department and participate in
student activities. While browsing the student representative page on the library website, he found the
page confusing due to the abbreviations, and went to the library help desk to ask for help. The library
staff were quickly able to help clarify the acronyms and also email the Communications and Media
department about the issue the student reported to check if it is possible to make the page more
descriptive.
The Communications and Media department manage the library website but for the past years the
relationship has been tense between the two departments. The Communications and Media department
email back the library staff with the following explanation: they chose to use acronyms on this page
because the page is for current students who know their department name. Most students refer to their
departments as STaCS rather than saying the full title. It’s much easier to scan the page with the
acronyms than adding clutter with ‘Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies’. They also said that the
content management system they use to build web pages is very restrictive and they are trying their
best to fit the content on the page layout.

Scenario 2
Maureen is a part-time postgraduate international student from the U.S.A. She is partially
deaf and wears hearing aids which she uses along with lipreading to communicate. 15 minutes
towards the end of a 2 hour workshop for research methods she noticed that suddenly it was
silent and everyone was staring at her. “You don’t have to answer my question if the session
is not your cup of tea,” said the librarian, with a smile to say he’d caught her daydreaming.
Maureen hadn’t even realised the librarian had asked a question.
She began to apologetically explain that she wasn’t being lazy, she didn’t hear what was
asked and that she was deaf. The librarian looked taken aback then made Maureen move to
the front row. After the session, the librarian apologised directly to her and said, “If you fancy
another session we have one this week, it is a piece of cake, give us a bell, and we will get this
sorted out for you.” Maureen smiled at the librarian and left the room.

● Tosh: nonsense
● Ta: Thanks
● Knackered: exhausted
● Pants: underwear (not trousers)
● Pissed: drunk
● Gutted: really upset (nothing to do with removing guts)
● Lift: elevator
● Loo: bathroom/toilet
● Dodgy: suspicious
● Not my cup of tea: not what I like or something I don’t like very much
● Quid: a pound / £1
● Fancy: like
● Cock-up: mess up
● Bang: the hair that hangs over the forehead

Scenario 3:
Rebecca is a 2nd year undergraduate BAME student from London. She has registered to help with the
UX research study that the library is running. In the advert to recruit students to do the UX testing,
the UX team has included that they are keen to interview “students with disabilities”. In an email to
book for a 20 minute interview session, Rebecca specified that she is dyslexic.
On the day of the interview, she was welcomed by three library staff, John, Mark, and Sue. Sue
directed her to the interview room. Rebecca felt a little a little uncomfortable when the interview
door closed and she was alone with John and Mark. One of the library researchers senses that
Rebecca is a little tense and tries to break the formal conversation by asking her where she is from.
During the session, Rebecca had difficulties wording her answers and was not able to complete part
of the UX interview. Mark had to cut the interview after 30 minutes as it went overtime and the next
student was waiting outside. Rebecca apologised for not completing the interview in time and left
the library building feeling exhausted.

Andrews, P., 2016. ‘User Experience Beyond Ramps: The Invisible
Problem and the Special Case’ in Priestner, A., and Borg, M., eds.
User experience in libraries: applying ethnography and human-centred
design. Abingdon: Routledge, p. 108.
“UX is for everyone, not just those who are
deemed to be the majority group. Everyone is
entitled to a good user experience, and no user
is ‘lesser’ than another.”
diversity in UX research

recruitment

recruitment
unconscious bias

recruitment
messages

research design

research design
understanding

research design
silence

research design
jargon

actions

challenge non-inclusive
UX research
actions

when learning, be your
own leader
actions

diversity in UX community
keep your insecurities out of
meetings
don’t undermine staff
from marginalised groups
give staff room to talk and
contribute

Hathcock, A., 2015. ‘White Librarianship in Blackface: Diversity
Initiatives in LIS’, In the library with the lead pipe, 7 October 2015
<http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/lis-diversity/>
“Our diversity programs do not work because
they are themselves coded to promote
whiteness as the norm in the profession and
unduly burden those individuals they are most
intended to help.”

Reflect on what critical UX
research means to you and how a
critical approach to inclusion and
diversity could impact your work.

Andrews, P., 2016. ‘User Experience Beyond Ramps: The Invisible Problem and the Special Case’ in Priestner, A., and Borg, M., eds.
User experience in libraries: applying ethnography and human-centred design. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 108-120.
Belger, J. & Chelin, J., 2013. ‘The inclusive library: an investigation into provision for students with dyslexia within a sample group
of academic libraries in England and Wales’, Library and information research, 37(115), pp. 7-32.
Bonnici, L. J., Maata, S. L., & Wells, M. K., 2009. ‘US national accessibility survey: librarians serving patrons with disabilities’, New
library world, 110(11/12), pp. 512-528.
Bourg, C., 2016 ‘diversity, inclusion, social justice and libraries proposing a framework’
<https://chrisbourg.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/diversity-inclusion-social-justice-and-libraries-proposing-a-framework/>
Charmaz, K., 2014. Constructing grounded theory. 2nd edition. London: Sage.
Cilip, 2015. ‘Landmark UK information workforce survey reveals ongoing gender pay gap’ Cilip: the library and information
association. 24 November 2015 <https://www.cilip.org.uk/news/landmark-uk-information-workforce-survey-reveals-ongoing-
gender-pay-gap>
Dermody, K. & Majekodunmi, N., 2011. ‘Online databases and the research experience for university students with print
disabilities’, Library hi tech, 29(1), pp. 149-160.
Drabinski, E., 2019. ‘What is critical about critical librarianship?’, Art libraries journal, 44 (2), pp. 49-57
<https://doi.org/10.1017/alj.2019.3>
Ellis, C., Adams, T.E., and Bochner, A.P., 2010. ‘Autoethnography: an overview’, Forum qualitative sozialforschung, 12(1), pp. 345-
357.
references

referencesEquality and Human Rights Commission, 2017. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: what does it mean for you?
Published at https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/the-united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-
what-does-it-mean-for-you.pdf
Fook, J., 2007. ‘Reflective Practice and Critical Reflection’ in Lishman, J., ed. Handbook for practice learning in social work and social care, second
edition: knowledge and theory. Basingstoke, Palgrave, pp. 363-375.
Goldsmiths, University of London, 2018. ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2017-18’ <https://www.gold.ac.uk/media/documents-by-
section/about-us/EDI-Annual-Report-2017-18-v5.pdf>
Hathcock, A., 2015. ‘White Librarianship in Blackface: Diversity Initiatives in LIS’, In the library with the lead pipe, 7 October 2015
<http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2015/lis-diversity/>
INVOLVE, 2012 ‘Diversity and Inclusion’. National Institute of Health Research https://www.invo.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2012/10/INVOLVEDiversityandInclusionOct2012.pdf
King, M., et al., 2016. ‘Men set their own cites high: Gender and self-citation across fields and over time’, arXiv, 30 June 2016
<https://arxiv.org/abs/1607.00376>
Mensah, F., 2006. ‘Multicultural preservice teachers' views of diversity and science teaching’, Research and Practice in Social Sciences, 11, pp. 98-131.
Scope, 2017. ‘What is the social model of disability?’, Scope <https://www.scope.org.uk/about-us/our-brand/social-model-of-disability>
SOAS, University of London, 2018. ‘Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report - June 2018’
Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation, 1975. ‘Fundamental Principles of Disability’, discussion held on 22 November 1975
<http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/UPIAS-fundamental-principles.pdf>

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