Challenges inherent in non-visual Web interaction prevent more than 2 million blind Americans from participating effectively in routine Web-based activities. The existing literature does not provide an understanding of cognition and subjective perception by visually-impaired people in these situations. Without this understanding, any effort to overcome the challenges of non-visual Web interaction will not be adequately informed. This project examines cognitive strategies employed by blind Web users that are distinct from typical sighted users. The research design used a problem solving framework to compare how blind participants and sighted participants "think aloud" while performing a series of web-based tasks. Activities where blind participants have difficulties, evidenced from their verbalizations, will be explored further in order to determine their cognitive strategies and how they differ from the strategies used by sighted persons.
Web interaction is important to many day to day activities, including education, work, information seeking, shopping and socializing. More than 2 million visually-impaired Americans cannot participate effectively in these activities. Findings of this project may form the basis for interventions that allow enable blind people to overcome the challenges and participate effectively in all aspects of life that require Web interaction. In addition, it introduces visually impaired high-school students to research through participation.
This work is funded by BCS, CISE, OCI, and EHR.
