Smashing Magazine has published 'Accessible UX Research,' a 324-page practical guide by Dr. Michele A. Williams, with a foreword by Jared Smith of WebAIM. The book covers seven chapters moving from disability mindset and assistive technology specifics through recruitment strategies, study facilitation, and reporting findings. A free 2.3MB PDF sample is available, and after months of customs and tariff disruptions, printed copies are shipping worldwide again.
The book's value is not in its conclusion but in its middle chapters. Chapter 4 tackles the concrete problem of recruiting disabled participants, a step most teams skip or fail at entirely. Chapter 7 addresses how researchers communicate findings, framing the researcher as storyteller and educator, not just data collector. Those two chapters alone justify reading the full text.
Williams structures the book for three distinct audiences: beginners learning to reduce bias on limited budgets, accessibility professionals needing deep detail on specific assistive technologies and testing environments, and developers or managers who need the historical and cultural context behind accessibility requirements. The book is positioned as a mindset shift away from compliance checklists, toward research that reflects the actual diversity of users.
[READ ORIGINAL →]