Redefining Accessible Surveys
Accessible research is more than captions; it’s the whole experience.
An accessible survey for deaf people uses natural, visual language in ASL and English. It respects our time through fair compensation and by involving us community members from the very beginning.
It also includes clear resources, plain language, visual examples, and transcripts. It makes participation possible across identities and access needs.
Most importantly, it’s built on trust: your input drives change, and results come back to the community.
This is what an accessible survey should be.
This is what our community deserves.
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This update is provided as part of the “Building Capacity for Deaf American Sign Language Users in Virtual Healthcare PCOR/CER” project, which is funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award (EACB-35309). The views presented in this work are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of PCORI. To learn more about the project, visit: www.pcori.org/research-results/2024/building-capacity-deaf-american-sign-language-users-virtual-healthcare-pcorcer. For project updates, follow us on social media or sign up with your email at deafhealthaccess.org/sign-up.
Video Description & Transcript
[VD: The post has a video thumbnail with blue shading overlaid. The middle has a text bubble that reads “Redefining Accessible Surveys” in white text with rose background. In the video: a white queer person with long curly hair is wearing a dark grey denim jacket. Bee is wearing a pair of teal-tinted glasses.
Transcript:
When deaf communities talk about accessible research, such as taking a survey, it’s more than captions or clear signing.
It’s about the entire experience of taking the survey and participating in research.
An accessible survey starts with language; a language that feels natural, clear, visual, and inclusive. This means that accessible surveys are available in English AND ASL.
The ASL has Signers whose styles reflect the diversity of our community: Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, multilingual signers, and those who rarely see themselves represented.
Accessible surveys also respect our time.
That means providing appropriate compensation for the time it takes for participants to take the survey, and for the community members who are included from the very beginning, who help develop, identify priorities, translate, and review the survey to ensure that the final product is accessible, easily understood, and reflective of our communities.
Their expertise is labor, and it deserves to be valued. True accessibility means involving the community at every step, from the earliest drafts to the final videos.
Not as an afterthought, but as co-creators who shape questions, catch gaps, and guide decisions. It means surveys built by researchers who understand lived experiences... people who know what barriers look like because they have faced them too.
It means offering resources that consider everyone: visual transcripts, visual examples, plain-language explanations, and short ASL videos that make complex concepts such as consent for research easy to understand without overwhelming participants.
It means making participation possible for Deaf people across identities; rural communities, BIPOC individuals, elders, DeafBlind participants, and those who rely on CDIs for clarity.
And it means trust.
Trust that the information you share will be used to improve access, not sit on a shelf.
Trust that results will be shared back with the community. Trust that this work truly belongs to all of us.
This is what an accessible survey looks like.
This is what our community deserves. And this is the standard we are committed to building together. [The screen fades to show a thumbnail of a faded white background of a doctor holding hands with another individual] Deaf. Healthy. DeafHealth. Learn more at www.deafhealthaccess.org.].]