Testimonial: Raj says “it’s nice to make a difference”
“A fun and interesting experience”: this is how Raj described the paid research study he attended earlier in 2015. Raj is just one of the members of PFR’s Accessibility Collective, a dedicated panel for people living with accessibility needs, making it easier for them to access and take part in paid research.
Being visually impaired and an experienced user of relevant software like the screen reading software programme JAWS, Raj is a key participant in paid research studies, as he can offer a unique perspective and help our clients improve the life of other people with visual impairments.
Earlier this year, Raj attended a paid research session about booking tickets for sports events online and was keen to later share feedback.
“I have attended sporting events in the past for pleasure, and as part of my job before I retired; I often attended sporting events with clients on corporate hospitality packages. It was an opportunity to provide input to the accessibly of a website, to make people understand availability, and how to make using a website an enjoyable experience for people with specific needs."
Accessibility testing
Raj was quite pleased after providing really useful ideas to our client on how to make their website more user-friendly. He even shared additional suggestions to ensure the website would work with software like JAWS, improving the experience of other users with visual impairments.
According to Raj, “it was much more fun and interesting than I thought it was going to be, it turned out the one-to-one session was very relaxed and conversational.”
“It’s nice to feel that I am able to influence the process and know that I am making a difference to other people who may use that website in the future.”
Besides sharing positive feedback about the actual research, Raj also commented on People for Research’s recruitment process: “Without People for Research it wouldn’t have happened, they gave me lots of information and made sure someone was able to come and meet me on the street outside the venue.”
But does Raj recommend this experience to other people with visual impairments? Of course! “It will be an amazing experience if you like to influence activities and digital tools that directly affect us or our community.”
If you have a visual impairment and require additional support when using a computer, here are some useful links:
Have you heard about our Accessibility Collective? It's our dedicated research panel for people living with accessibility needs, making it easier for them to access and take part in paid research.
