DiscoverTRIP | The Research Inclusion ProjectS06E01: Inclusion by Rapport-Building and Personalizing with Rajasi Desai of MathWorks
S06E01: Inclusion by Rapport-Building and Personalizing with Rajasi Desai of MathWorks

S06E01: Inclusion by Rapport-Building and Personalizing with Rajasi Desai of MathWorks

Update: 2025-06-05
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"You don't have to do 0 to 100 things in your first study you try, but little things can make a difference."


In this episode of  TRIP, Rajasi Desai shares her journey and practical strategies for fostering inclusivity in user research.

She emphasizes the impact of small, intentional steps—such as using multilingual and offline surveys, adapting scheduling for global participants, and making space for human connection. Rajasi also highlights internal initiatives like inclusive UX book clubs and team-wide efforts to diversify participant recruitment.

Tune in to learn about inclusion with recommendations:

  1. Start Small and Iterative – Focus on making one aspect of your research process more inclusive each time, rather than trying to overhaul everything at once.
  2. Use Multilingual and Offline Recruitment Methods – Incorporate surveys in multiple languages and distribute them both online and offline to reach underrepresented groups.
  3. Foster Cultural Sensitivity in Execution – Learn to pronounce participants' names, adjust scheduling for global time zones, and create space for vulnerable conversations to build genuine rapport.

Links to Resources:

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Rajasi is a Principal UX Researcher at MathWorks, where she leads the Inclusive UX Group. Her work centers on creating processes that enable researchers and designers to be inclusive in their work. She has presented her work at prominent conferences such as UXPA Boston, UXPA International, ICML, NeurIPS, and ConveyUX. Rajasi holds a graduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

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TRIP is a self-funded project, produced in partnership with Hasty Storytelling, and is dedicated to raising awareness of new research practices for inclusion, challenging the status quo, and identifying assumptions in the industry by talking to people who are pushing in the insights industry.

To support our production with a donation and receive a shoutout for you and your business visit: https://buymeacoffee.com/trippodcast

To learn more about The Research Inclusion Project visit: https://theresearchinclusionproject.com

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S06E01: Inclusion by Rapport-Building and Personalizing with Rajasi Desai of MathWorks

S06E01: Inclusion by Rapport-Building and Personalizing with Rajasi Desai of MathWorks

Kristin Spraggins and Katrina Noelle