Case
Abstract
Working adults often do not disclose if they have a disability in the workplace. In fact, many employees do not even complete the requested disclosure form if it is voluntary. Although keeping such information concealed can avoid negative social consequences such as negative reactions from co-workers and disability-based discrimination, there are also costs to both the worker and the organization. Workers forfeit legal protections from discrimination and needed accommodations to perform at work. Organizations suffer from inaccurate records of their workforces and miss opportunities to create practices and policies to better support their workers. This case study describes data collected during a study examining factors that influence employees with disabilities’ reactions to disability disclosure requests in the workplace. We demonstrate the use of an online survey design using a crowdsourcing platform. We also elaborate on the procedures and decision criteria used to assure data quality. In this module, you will learn what decisions may be made to assure data quality from online data collection, considerations when conducting research with a hard-to-reach population, and considerations when asking participants sensitive questions in research.
