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Qualtrics Accessibility Guide

What is Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a cloud-based survey and form platform, used to design, distribute, and analyze surveys, You can build surveys with a variety of question types, gather responses, and export data for further analysis. Qualtrics is available through CITS, and is widely used in academia, research, and organizational contexts for feedback, data collection, course evaluations, polling, and more.

Accessibility & Qualtrics — why it matters

While Qualtrics offers many features, not all survey content or survey-creation workflows are fully accessible to people using screen readers or other assistive technologies. Without careful design, surveys may unintentionally exclude users with disabilities. Because of this, many institutions restrict certain question types and encourage use of built-in accessibility checks.

Building accessible Qualtrics surveys — best practices

Use only accessible question types

Not all question types are friendly to assistive technology (e.g., screen readers). Stick to the ones known for better accessibility support. Commonly accessible question types include:

  • Descriptive Text
  • Multiple Choice
  • Text Entry/Form Field
  • Side-by-Side, Drill Down, Timing, Meta Info
  • File Upload (though use with caution — some users may experience difficulties)

Avoid or rework these types when possible (many are flagged as non-accessible):

  • Rich Matrix types (especially Likert, Bipolar, MaxDiff, drag-and-drop matrices)
  • Drag-and-drop Rank Order, Pick/Group/Rank, Hot Spot, Heat Map, Graphic Slider, etc.

If you must use less-accessible question types, consider offering an alternate method (e.g., a plain-text version), or rework the question using accessible types.

Configure survey settings for accessibility

  • Add a descriptive survey title — not just a generic name. The title appears in the browser tab and helps orient participants using screen readers.
  • Change navigation buttons: Instead of default “>>” or “<<”, rename them “Next”, “Back”, or “Submit” so screen readers announce their function properly.
  • Enable question numbering so participants know where they are in the survey (“Question 3 of 10”). This is especially helpful if there's no accessible progress bar.
  • Use accessible survey themes/styling — avoid themes or color schemes that fail contrast requirements. Choose high-contrast colors and readable fonts if customizing.

Ensure media and visuals are accessible

  • Alt-text for images: If your survey uses images (e.g., logos, diagrams, graphics), always add descriptive alt text. Screen readers will use that text to convey content to visually impaired users
  • Accessible video/audio: If embedding multimedia, ensure videos have captions/subtitles, and audio descriptions when necessary. Otherwise, offer a text alternative.
  • Avoid images as text: If you must use images containing text, also include the same text in the question or description so screen readers can access it. This applies to documents, forms, webpages, etc.

Test and validate accessibility

  • Use Qualtrics’ built-in “Check Survey Accessibility” (or ExpertReview) tool to scan for known accessibility issues. This identifies incompatible question types, missing alt text, and other red flags.
  • Manually test your survey — navigate it using only the keyboard and/or with a screen reader to verify reading order, keyboard navigation, and logical flow. Automated tools can’t catch everything.
  • If your survey uses logic (skip logic, branching, hidden questions), add a note at the top: for example, “Because of skip logic, questions may not appear in numerical order.” This helps prevent confusion for assistive-technology users.

Special considerations & organizational policies

  • Some institutions restrict certain Qualtrics question types and disable the survey-creator interface for users with disabilities because those parts remain inaccessible.
  • If you’re collecting survey data for research or formal evaluation, ensure your survey meets your organization’s accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG 2.0/2.1, Section 508)
  • Always include alt text, accessible navigation, and clear instructions — accessibility is not just a “nice to have,” but a requirement for inclusion and compliance.

Creating accessible surveys ensures that all potential respondents, regardless of ability or assistive technology use, can participate meaningfully. It broadens inclusion, enhances data quality, and helps satisfy legal or institutional accessibility requirements. By following the best practices outlined above — choosing accessible question types, adding alt text, verifying survey navigation, and testing with assistive tools — you can build Qualtrics surveys that are more usable, inclusive, and compliant.