Email

This strategy can be used for: Communication | Team Decision Making

Email can help remote teams communicate. Emails can be used for coordinating work and meetings. Emails can also be used to share information with team members before or after meetings.

Email-based mailing lists (e.g., LISTSERV) can also be used to share ideas. Team members can communicate directly with each other privately and in depth to give feedback on tools, products, or data analysis/results. An email-based mailing list can allow team members to share ideas with each other and respond to each other’s ideas. Finally, email-based mailing list conversations can inform team decisions and meeting topics.

Email template

Emails are more accessible and easier to use when the team follows a standard message format, which lists the purpose of the e-mail message, the expected actions, and the deadline for responding, before elaborating on details organized by structured topic headings.

Security note: Organizations might limit the type of information research teams are allowed to share on email. Teams should review their organization’s email policy before use.

Access Accommodations and Supports

• When emails are used to distribute documents or other attachments to team members, the attachments should be listed/named in the email body and have descriptive names that support understanding. Eliminate extraneous information in file names, such as version numbers or IRB protocol identifiers.
• Follow up with an individual phone call to make sure the email is easy to understand and provide support for tasks identified in the email.
• Ensure emailed materials are compatible with screen readers.
• Send audio files that read out loud the content of the email.
• Emails can include images to support understanding of written content.

Resources

• This document provides a format for email communication: Email Templates
• This document from the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) Network provides Email Communication Guidelines
• Learn how to use one common email system, Gmail:
  • Google: Creating a Gmail account
  • Video directions: Creating a Gmail account
  • Video directions: How to attach a file

Tools to Explore

• Email Platforms
  • Gmail - when people make Gmail accounts they can use all of the other Google programs, like GoogleSlides
  • AOL
  • Microsoft Outlook - when people make Outlook accounts, they can use other collaborative software, such as Microsoft Online
  • Yahoo! Mail
  • Zoho
  • Mail.com - allows you to choose from over 200 different email address domains
• To find images for your email, check out The Noun Project. The Noun Project is an online repository of images. You can sign up for a free account to download images. Paid accounts include some options for customizing images.

References

Examples of studies using this strategy

Benevides, T. W., Shore, S. M., Palmer, K., Duncan, P., Plank, A., Andresen, M. L., Caplan, R., Cook, B., Gassner, D., Hector, B. L., Morgan, L., Nebeker, L., Purkis, Y., Rankowski, B., Wittig, K., & Coughlin, S. S. (2020). Listening to the autistic voice: Mental health priorities to guide research and practice in autism from a stakeholder-driven project. Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 24(4), 822–833. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320908410

McDonald, K. E., & Stack, E. (2016). You say you want a revolution: An empirical study of community-based participatory research with people with developmental disabilities. Disability and Health Journal, 9(2), 201–207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2015.12.006

Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D., Katz, M., Oschwald, M., Goe, R., Leotti, S., Grantham, L., Plourde, E., Salomon, J., Hughes, R. B., & Powers, L. E. (2015). Community-based participatory research to adapt health measures for use by people With developmental disabilities. Progress in Community Health Partnerships : Research, Education, and Action, 9(2), 157–170. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2015.0037

Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D., McDonald, K., Dern, S., Ashkenazy, E., Boisclair, C., Robertson, S., & Baggs, A. (2011). Collaboration strategies in nontraditional community-based participatory research partnerships: Lessons from an academic−community partnership with autistic self-advocates. Progress in Community Health Partnerships : Research, Education, and Action, 5(2), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2011.0022

Pohl, A. L., Crockford, S. K., Blakemore, M., Allison, C., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2020). A comparative study of autistic and non-autistic women’s experience of motherhood. Molecular Autism, 11(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-019-0304-2

Powers, L. E., Garner, T., Valnes, B., Squire, P., Turner, A., Couture, T., & Dertinger, R. (2007). Building a Successful Adult Life: Findings From Youth-Directed Research. Exceptionality, 15(1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362830709336925

Raymaker, D. M., Kapp, S. K., McDonald, K. E., Weiner, M., Ashkenazy, E., & Nicolaidis, C. (2019). Development of the AASPIRE web accessibility guidelines for autistic web users. Autism in Adulthood : Challenges and Management, 1(2), 146–157. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2018.0020

Strang, J. F., Knauss, M., van der Miesen, A., McGuire, J. K., Kenworthy, L., Caplan, R., Freeman, A., Sadikova, E., Zaks, Z., Pervez, N., Balleur, A., Rowlands, D. W., Sibarium, E., Willing, L., McCool, M. A., Ehrbar, R. D., Wyss, S. E., Wimms, H., Tobing, J., … & Anthony, L. G. (2020). A clinical program for transgender and gender-diverse neurodiverse/autistic adolescents developed through community-based participatory design. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology : The Official Journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2020.1731817

White, E. L., & Morgan, M. F. (2012). Yes! I am a researcher. The research story of a young adult with Down syndrome. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 40(2), 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2779-6_129-1

Williamson, H. J., van Heumen, L., & Schwartz, A. E. (2020). Photovoice with Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities: Lessons Learned from Inclusive Research Efforts. Collaborations: A Journal of Community-Based Research and Practice, 3(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.33596/coll.45

Examples of studies using this accommodation

Nicolaidis, C., Raymaker, D., McDonald, K., Dern, S., Ashkenazy, E., Boisclair, C., Robertson, S., & Baggs, A. (2011). Collaboration strategies in nontraditional community-based participatory research partnerships: Lessons from an academic–community partnership with autistic self-advocates. Progress in Community Health Partnerships, 5(2), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2011.0022

Williamson, H. J., van Heumen, L., & Schwartz, A. E. (2020). Photovoice with Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities: Lessons Learned from Inclusive Research Efforts. Collaborations: A Journal of Community-Based Research and Practice, 3(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.33596/coll.45