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Beyond 508 Web Access:  A Partnership Among Diverse Users, Teachers, and Providers

Presented at AUCD Annual Conference, Washington DC, October 31, 2006 by:

Stephen Gilson, Ph.D., Professor and Co-Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies
Liz DePoy, Ph.D., Professor and Co-Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies
Rachel Hutchins, MSW student, Graduate Research Assistant

This study was supported by funding from the Maine Technology Institute

Background

Access to electronic information has been identified as a major civil right of the 21st century.  Yet, numerous atypical users continue to experience limited or no access to this resource, creating serious negative consequences for their participation in community, health and wellness.  In response to this serious and potentially harmful disparity, much attention has been devoted to narrowing and eliminating the digital divide and digital inequality.

Current solutions to address access barriers are structured primarily according to principles of retrofitting and special adaptation.  Although well intended, these attempts fall short, in that they are often tailored to individual conditions or provide the structure in which websites in the United States need only to meet the minimum standards required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.  Because people are not uni-dimensional, access barriers cannot be eliminated merely through meeting minimal legal standards.  In order to inform innovation with the purpose of making electronic health information available for all people, this inquiry was implemented.

Method

A multi-method study relying on group interview and thematic and content analysis was conducted to answer the following research questions:

Question #1:  What are the "look and feel" and function preferences of diverse people? 

Question #2:  What access barriers, beyond those identified in Section 508 standards, need to be addressed?

Question #3:  What recommendations do diverse users have for expanding web access and resources to all users including those with disabilities?

Over a year, group interviews were conducted with 73 participants representing diverse cultural, geographic, educational, and ethnic backgrounds, motor, sensory, and cognitive abilities, language preference, age, gender, and computer proficiency.  A series of websites depicting different designs and features was shown to all groups and participants were asked to respond to semi-structured questions in three areas (design, content, and interactivity) related to the selected sites.  Data were audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim for thematic and content analysis.

Brief overview of findings

 Four major themes emerged to answer Question #1:

1. Purposive design—The purposes and functions of websites should be clear and the design should help the user achieve the intended purpose.
2. Simplicity—The look and navigation should be simple:
   1. limited movement such as Flash, pop-ups, and automatic scrolling
   2. pleasing, non-distracting colors
   3. limited information on a single page
   4. limit scrolling to 1.5 pages
   5. simple navigation to return to the home page, search and link to other pages
3. Logic—The page, its use, and its navigation should be easily ascertained and intuitive:
   1. standards, such as left sided toolbars, should be considered in design
   2. navigation and use should make sense to the user
   3. text and information should be ascertainable in a systematic and sensible sequence
4. Redundancy—Design multiple but sensible ways to understand content and navigate:
   1. redundant text for image maps
   2. return to home at top and bottom of page
   3. text along with image

Responses to Question #2 revealed that barriers were created not only by violation of universal access principles set forth in 508 legislation, but more pervasively by inattention to the four themes of purpose, simplicity, logic, and redundancy discussed above.

Responses to Question #3 recommended that the four themes of purposive design, simplicity, logic, and redundancy, be followed in all web design.

 http://www.Google.com , a sample of a preferred design.

Conclusions and Principles

1. Principles of sound web design for all users should guide web design for every target audience;
2. Ongoing participatory usability and preference research should be conducted to continually identify and respond to new and emerging barriers to access;
3. To assure careful and continuous attention to web access as a right for all people as new technology unfolds, state-of-the art education, informed by systematically generated evidence, should be delivered by and for diverse users, teachers, providers and others who disseminate resources and knowledge through the internet.

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