Survey
A friend of mine as me to pass on this survey to totally blind PC users.
His name Kris and his his email is at the end of the survey - here is
his message and survey:
--
In order to validate (or refute) some of the theories in my doctoral
dissertation I am collecting answers to a short survey about graphical
user interface, and how they are used by people who are totally blind.
I am looking for brief information on how you perceive elements of the
user interface, and what they mean to you. It would really help me a
lot if you could take a few minutes to answer the short survey and send
me the answers in reply email.
As is common for scientific surveys, I do ask a few questions about
demographics. I have tried my best to limit it to non-intrusive questions.
If you have any concerns with any of the questions (about GUIs or the
demographics) please feel free to email me also.
If possible, I hope that it takes little time to complete this little
survey and that you might be able to send me your answers by Aug 3rd?
Also, please feel free to share this with friends who you know are
totally blind. The more the merrier, in a way
Thank you so much for your time. It is very helpful for me, and the
results will be incorporated in my dissertation. I also intend to make an
electronic version of the dissertation available after completing my
doctorate and I'd be happy to send you a copy when that time comes.
Kris Van Hees
DEMOGRAPHICS
------------
A. Gender:
B. Age:
C. Years of experience with computers:
D. Job (or equivalent):
E. Blind since (if since birth, write 'birth'):
F. Braille, Speech Synthesizer, or Both:
SURVEY
------
1. Briefly explain what a 'window' in a user interface is, from your
perspective?
2. Briefly explain what a 'button' in a user interface is, from your
perspective?
3. Briefly explain the 'desktop' of a GUI environment, from your
perspective?
4. a) Do you find yourself exploring the overall layout and
content of a user interface before you interact with it?
4. b) If so, what kind of things do you look for?
5. a) Do you find yourself creating a mental image of the user
interface as your explore it?
5. b) If so, what does that mental image look like from a high
level perspective (not much detail)? What are the main
components of the mental image?
6. a) Do you ever have a sighted person describe the user interface
for you?
6. b) If so, what kinds of information do you ask for?
6. c) If so, how well do you feel sighted people describe user
interfaces for you?
6. d) What is your most common complaint about people describing
user interface to you?
6. e) What stands out with the best descriptions of user interfaces
that sighted people have given you?
7. Does it help you to know what user interface elements look like
visually, i.e. as a way to make it easier for you to interact
with the user interface?
8. a) Are there any user interface elements in graphical user
interfaces that you have found to be difficult to understand
in terms of how to interact with them?
8. b) If so, please list the top three difficult elements, and
briefly explain why you felt each was difficult?
Thank you for completing the survey - please forward your answers to
aedil@alchar.org
His name Kris and his his email is at the end of the survey - here is
his message and survey:
--
In order to validate (or refute) some of the theories in my doctoral
dissertation I am collecting answers to a short survey about graphical
user interface, and how they are used by people who are totally blind.
I am looking for brief information on how you perceive elements of the
user interface, and what they mean to you. It would really help me a
lot if you could take a few minutes to answer the short survey and send
me the answers in reply email.
As is common for scientific surveys, I do ask a few questions about
demographics. I have tried my best to limit it to non-intrusive questions.
If you have any concerns with any of the questions (about GUIs or the
demographics) please feel free to email me also.
If possible, I hope that it takes little time to complete this little
survey and that you might be able to send me your answers by Aug 3rd?
Also, please feel free to share this with friends who you know are
totally blind. The more the merrier, in a way
Thank you so much for your time. It is very helpful for me, and the
results will be incorporated in my dissertation. I also intend to make an
electronic version of the dissertation available after completing my
doctorate and I'd be happy to send you a copy when that time comes.
Kris Van Hees
DEMOGRAPHICS
------------
A. Gender:
B. Age:
C. Years of experience with computers:
D. Job (or equivalent):
E. Blind since (if since birth, write 'birth'):
F. Braille, Speech Synthesizer, or Both:
SURVEY
------
1. Briefly explain what a 'window' in a user interface is, from your
perspective?
2. Briefly explain what a 'button' in a user interface is, from your
perspective?
3. Briefly explain the 'desktop' of a GUI environment, from your
perspective?
4. a) Do you find yourself exploring the overall layout and
content of a user interface before you interact with it?
4. b) If so, what kind of things do you look for?
5. a) Do you find yourself creating a mental image of the user
interface as your explore it?
5. b) If so, what does that mental image look like from a high
level perspective (not much detail)? What are the main
components of the mental image?
6. a) Do you ever have a sighted person describe the user interface
for you?
6. b) If so, what kinds of information do you ask for?
6. c) If so, how well do you feel sighted people describe user
interfaces for you?
6. d) What is your most common complaint about people describing
user interface to you?
6. e) What stands out with the best descriptions of user interfaces
that sighted people have given you?
7. Does it help you to know what user interface elements look like
visually, i.e. as a way to make it easier for you to interact
with the user interface?
8. a) Are there any user interface elements in graphical user
interfaces that you have found to be difficult to understand
in terms of how to interact with them?
8. b) If so, please list the top three difficult elements, and
briefly explain why you felt each was difficult?
Thank you for completing the survey - please forward your answers to
aedil@alchar.org