Do autocomplete functions reduce the impact of dyslexia on information‐searching behavior? The case of Google

Abstract

Dyslexic users often do not exhibit spelling and reading skills at a level required to perform effective search. To explore whether autocomplete functions reduce the impact of dyslexia on information searching, 20 participants with dyslexia and 20 controls solved 10 predefined tasks in the search engine Google. Eye‐tracking and screen‐capture documented the searches. There were no significant differences between the dyslexic students and the controls in time usage, number of queries, query lengths, or the use of the autocomplete function. However, participants with dyslexia made more misspellings and looked less at the screen and the autocomplete suggestions lists while entering the queries. The results indicate that although the autocomplete function supported the participants in the search process, a more extensive use of the autocomplete function would have reduced misspellings. Further, the high tolerance for spelling errors considerably reduced the effect of dyslexia, and may be as important as the autocomplete function.

What Is Known About the Impact of Impairments on Information Seeking and Searching?

“…The study also found that 66.3% of users placed a heavy reliance on autocomplete when forming queries, which may help to reduce errors in this initial stage. This contradicts the findings of Berget and Sandnes (2016), who, in an eye-tracking study, compared the search behavior of 20 people with dyslexia and 20 users in a control group searching Google, and concluded that people with dyslexia did not utilize the autocomplete function much, because their eyes were fixated on the keyboard during query input. However, that study was conducted using a desktop computer and a regular keyboard.…”

Studies on spelling in the context of dyslexia: a literature review

“…Spelling difficulties have been frequently observed in dyslexic children 1,2,[7][8][9]20,22 and persist until adulthood 14,[23][24][25][26][27] .…”

A Case for Adaptation to Enhance Usability and Accessibility of Library Resource Discovery Tools

“…Though studies related to library RDTs are few, some of them identified the needs people with disabilities could have during their interaction with library search tools. For instance, Berget and Sandnes [31] stated that people with dyslexia are prone to making spelling errors while typing search terms. Therefore, they recommended search tools to be error tolerant and support autocomplete features in order to reduce the effects of dyslexia.…”