When UX Research and Institutional Racism Collide: A Case Study
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Usability in marginalized communities must consider historical trauma and distrust beyond standard metrics like time or error rate.
-
•
Clinical trial registries underrepresent Black and Hispanic Latino participants despite higher Alzheimer’s incidence.
-
•
Questions about race on forms can spark skepticism and suspicion due to historical abuses and systemic racism.
-
•
Showing diverse leadership on organizational about pages significantly boosts trust for participants.
-
•
Users evaluate organizations through leadership representation and background checks, not just website content.
-
•
Financial incentives for clinical trials are a valid motivator and sign of respect, especially for marginalized populations.
-
•
Designing for equity requires expanding the researcher’s role beyond checking usability boxes to confronting systemic issues.
-
•
Participant storytelling helps counter biased assumptions about motivations like altruism versus payment.
-
•
Building digital relationships with communities harmed by systemic racism requires transparency and reciprocity.
-
•
Researchers must be willing to take risks and be bold to advocate for equity despite client or stakeholder discomfort.
Notable Quotes
"My race has been treated like guinea pigs for most of our existence."
"Black people in general are sometimes looked at as disposable."
"Showing is better than telling, especially when it comes to equity."
"A website has no meaningful identity outside of the people it represents."
"I want to see pictures of your leadership and board. Do you have women, do you have people of color?"
"Payment is an important part of the research relationship for many users."
"There is no perfect user, and motivations can coexist within a single person."
"Mentioning incentives can build trust by signaling reciprocity."
"It's wrong to expect people to want to do more work with less motivation."
"Sometimes you just have to be a little bit bold and be willing to use your power and privilege to advocate for what you know to be true."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Are you creative? Such a loaded question, isn't it?"
Dr. Karl JeffriesThe Science of Creativity for DesignOps
January 8, 2024
"Making your chief legal officer your best friend as a designer makes a lot of sense."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"Enterprise UX is still nascent—businesses worldwide are just beginning to figure out where UX fits."
Steve Portigal Chris Chapo Kelly Goto Christian RohrerDiscussion
May 13, 2015
"Some needs proved full-time, so hybrid staffing models are often short term or mixed part-time."
Alicia MootyDesign Staffing Models
September 30, 2021
"We want to stay in the game no users cursing our name."
Ana Maria Montero Barrantes Aditi Dhar Michelle Kaplan Nate Osborne Matt LaurenceThe Authentic UX Talent Show
January 8, 2024
"We can’t complain about not having a seat at the table if we don’t offer one of our own."
Lada Gorlenko Sharbani Dhar Sébastien Malo Rob Mitzel Ivana Ng Michal Anne RogondinoTheme 1: Discussion
January 8, 2024
"Data entry is the enemy; automation is the key to making research repositories successful."
Sofia QuinteroThe Product Philosophy Behind EnjoyHQ
March 10, 2021
"Please don’t chop off that engine until the new one is built because you are not the only one on this plane."
Laura KleinUnique challenges of innovation in enterprises
April 23, 2020
"My playlist changed drastically when my son was born, but data alone wouldn’t explain why."
Andrew MichaelBuilding a Product Insights Team
March 10, 2022
