Preparing for research with screen readers
Last Updated: March 7, 2025
Screen reader users do not navigate in the same way that sighted users do. Typically, they navigate by keyboard using a combination of mainstream key commands and those specific to their screen reader. This page helps you prepare for conducting research using screen readers.
Preparing for research
Watch the first 25 minutes of this introduction to screen readers by Deque.
Become familiar with screen reader shortcuts during your pilot session with an accessibility specialist.
Do during facilitation
Wear headphones to prevent the user’s screen reader from echoing back to them (this can be very distracting).
Ask how the participant accomplishes tasks. Screen reader users can navigate from heading to heading, get a list of links organized alphabetically, use the tab key to navigate to links and form controls, and search within the page for keywords, among other methods. It may not be immediately obvious or visible, so it’s OK to ask for clarification.
Send links through email or text instead of Zoom’s built in chat feature. They will be faster to access than the Zoom chat which may be hard to find if it's their first time using it.
Be flexible if there are technical issues with the participant’s assistive technology.
If participant can’t share their screen in Zoom, ask them to use the prototype and tell you what theyʼre seeing and interacting with. You and the observers should open the prototype and follow along.
If you can’t hear the participant’s screen reader, ask them to tell you when theyʼre ready to pause to hear the next instruction.
If you can’t see the participant’s screen magnified (if they’re using a screen magnified), ask participant to go to the top of the page and tell you the right-most thing they see on their screen, and also whatʼs at the bottom of their screen without scrolling. This will give you a sense of how much of the page theyʼre seeing at once.
Itʼs OK to use words in your prompts that refer to vision (e.g., “tell me what you see”, “look at this”) because people who are visually impaired use this language and donʼt feel excluded by it. Avoid awkwardly trying to rephrase on the fly. It’s OK to use alternate phrases like “check out this page” if you can do it and sound natural.
If a participant asks you during a session to avoid vision-oriented language, please try to do this – If the participant encounters any issues using their assistive tech, ask the accessibility specialist in the session to help (e.g., sharing screen/audio over Zoom, finding the Zoom chat, switching between applications, reloading the current page, closing dialog boxes that open, understanding why a UI interaction is not working for a participant’s assistive technology).
Don't do during facilitation
Don’t ask the participant to slow down the speed of their screen reader (reading rate). It won’t be natural to the participant and can be frustrating to advanced screen reader users who may be used to listening and navigating at a fast pace. If you can’t keep up with the screen reader, ask them to explain what their screen reader announced post-task instead.
Don’t rely on visual cues such as “click here” or “look for the blue button.”
Don’t interrupt or talk over the participant while they complete tasks. Screen reader users need to be able to hear their screen reader in order to complete tasks. Speaking over their screen reader may result in delaying or resetting the task.
Avoid talking over their screen reader. Wait to talk until you hear that itʼs quiet. If you canʼt hear their screen reader or see its transcript, ask the participant to tell you when theyʼre ready to pause to listen for the next instruction.
Help and feedback
Get help from the Platform Support Team in Slack.
Submit a feature idea to the Platform.