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Re: Excellent paper on how screen reader users interact with webpages

for

From: Alistair Duggin
Date: Apr 11, 2012 11:31PM

As a web developer I find such studies and advice based on user
research incredibly useful and informative.

Here are a couple more I've just found:

A Modified Google Docs UI accessible via screen reader (2011)
Abstract: Collaborative editors are simple tools that enable
people to create, share and exchange documents via
Internet, quickly enhancing learning, knowledge and
socialization. However, at present collaborative
software is designed with little attention to the needs of
differently-abled persons, such as the blind. Dynamic
user interfaces and visual features delivering meaning
may be inaccessible via screen reader, if an appropriate
design is not adopted. In this demo we show a
prototype of some modified Google Docs User
Interfaces (UIs) -- for accessing and editing a
document -- that allow full accessibility via JAWS
screen reader. An interaction with the original and
modified UIs is shown to highlight barriers and possible
solutions for their elimination.
http://giove.isti.cnr.it/attachments/publications/ecscw2011-def.pdf


Google News: How User-Friendly is It for the Blind? (2011)
Abstract: Being able to read text, find out information and know about
the
latest news has always been a challenge for those who cannot
access the printed version, such as the visually-impaired. The
advent of the Web has been a big step in the right direction for
blind people to obtain up-to-date information on the internet.
Many portals and Web sites offer online services for up-to-date
news. In this paper our aim is to evaluate how easy and rewarding
it is for blind people to access this. For this purpose, we are
focusing on the well-known online service provided by Google,
i.e. Google News as a case study. In order to truly benefit from
access to the information available on the Web, the page interface
must be simple and easy to use by everyone, including people
who have to use assistive technologies. In this work we analyze
not only the accessibility of the service offered by Google for its
News, but also in particular the usability when interacting via
screen reader.
http://giove.isti.cnr.it/attachments/publications/p241.pdf






On 12 Apr 2012, at 07:49, Alistair Duggin wrote:

> Here are a couple of more recent research papers I have found. I
> could only find pdf versions so have included the abstracts here.
>
> Do you know of any similar studies or resources ?
>
> More than Meets the Eye: A Survey of Screen-Reader Browsing Strategies
> (2009)
> Abstract: Browsing the Web with screen readers can be difficult and
> frustrating. Web pages often contain inaccessible content that is
> expressed only visually or that can be accessed only with the
> mouse. Screen-reader users must also contend with usability
> challenges encountered when the reading content is designed with
> built-in assumptions of how it will be accessed – generally by a
> sighted person on a standard display. Far from passive consumers
> of content who simply accept web content as accessible or not,
> many screen-reader users are adept at developing, discovering,
> and employing browsing strategies that help them overcome the
> accessibility and usability problems they encounter. In this paper,
> we overview the browsing strategies that we have observed
> screen-reader users employ when faced with challenges, ranging
> from unfamiliar web sites and complex web pages to dynamic and
> automatically-refreshing content. A better understanding of
> existing browsing strategies can inform the design of accessible
> websites, development of new tools that make experienced users
> more effective, and help overcome the initial learning curve for
> users who have not yet acquired effective browsing strategies.
>
> http://hci.cs.rochester.edu/pubs/pdfs/browsing-strategies-w4a10.pdf
>
>
>
> Usability and Accessibility of eBay by Screen Reader (2009)
> Abstract. The evolution of Information and Communication Technology
> and
> the rapid growth of the Internet have fuelled a great diffusion of
> eCommerce
> websites. Usually these sites have complex layouts crowded with active
> elements, and thus are difficult to navigate via screen reader.
> Interactive
> environments should be properly designed and delivered to everyone,
> including
> the blind, who usually use screen readers to interact with their
> computers. In
> this paper we investigate the interaction of blind users with eBay, a
> popular
> eCommerce website, and discuss how using the W3C Accessible Rich
> Internet
> Applications (WAI-ARIA) suite could improve the user experience when
> navigating via screen reader.
> http://giove.isti.cnr.it/attachments/publications/2009-A2-091.pdf
>
>
>
> Source Order, Skip links and Structural labels (2006)
> Abstract: Is page source order important to screen reader users?
> Recently, the idea of
> placing the informational content of a web page before the navigation
> has gained some
> currency. This paper reports on our research into the relevance and
> importance of
> page source order, skip links and structural labels for screen reader
> users.
> http://usability.com.au/resources/source-order.cfm
>
>
> cheers,
> Al
>
> On 11 Apr 2012, at 19:49, Jennifer Sutton wrote:
>
>> This article seems to be picking up steam in circulation. I
>> recommend that readers keep in mind that it came out a number of
>> years ago like 2002 or 2003.
>>
>> The article reads, in part:
>> "Between November 2002 and February 2003, we observed and listened to
>> 16 blind users as they worked with Web sites using assistive devices
>> that read the screen to them (screen readers)."
>>
>>
>> No NVDA, no VO . . .
>> And hasn't the Web changed? And many new versions of screen readers
>> since then?
>>
>> It may be useful/thought-provoking, but dates on this kind of
>> information/research matter, even if they are not always easy to
>> notice.
>>
>> Jennifer
>>
>> At 12:29 PM 4/11/2012, you wrote:
>>> I generally only use Twitter to distribute this kind of info, rather
>>> than overload the list, but I find this article and study very
>>> interesting, especially in that it provides tips and ideas not just
>>> for designers but also for SR vendors.
>>
>>
>>> http://www.redish.net/content/papers/interactions.html
>>> >>> >>> >>
>> >> >> >
> > >