How people use presentation to search for a link: expanding the understanding of accessibility on the Web

Abstract

It is well known that many Web pages are difficult to use for visually disabled people. Without access to a rich visual display, the intended structure and organisation of the page is obscured. To fully understand what is missing from the experience of visually disabled users, it is pertinent to ask how the presentation of Web pages on a standard display makes them easier for sighted people to use. This paper reports on an exploratory eye tracking study that addresses this issue by investigating how sighted readers use the presentation of the BBC News Web page to search for a link. The standard page presentation is compared with a ''text-only'' version, demonstrating both qualitatively and quantitatively that the removal of the intended presentation alters ''reading'' behaviours. The demonstration that the presentation of information assists task completion suggests that it should be re-introduced to non-visual presentations if the Web is to become more accessible. The conducted study also explored the extent to which algorithms that generate maps of what is perceptually salient on a page match the gaze data recorded in the eye tracking study. The correspondence between a page's presentation, knowledge of what is visually salient, and how people use these features to complete a task might offer an opportunity to re-model a Web page to maximise access to its most important parts.

Predicting whether users view dynamic content on the world wide web

“…There are potentially many factors that may affect whether or not an update is viewed, particularly those relating to its salience, such as the colours or levels of contrast it contains. Although 'salience maps' have been produced for Web pages (Zheng et al, 2009;Jay et al, 2007), these apply only to static pages, and do not consider changes to content over time. Whether the change is an isolated instance or occurs over a longer period, and the proportion of the content within the HTML element that changes may also impact on whether a user views it.…”

Tending a Wild Garden: Library Web Design for Persons with Disabilities

“…Researchers asked eighteen people with normal or corrected vision to search for answers on two versions of a BBC website-the standard graphical page and the textonly version. Subjects' eyes tended to dart around the standard page "as they attempt to locate what appears visually to be the next most likely location" 24 for the answer. But in searching the text-only page, subjects went line-by-line, making smaller jumps across each page.…”

Interpreting the layout of web pages

“…Yesilada et al highlighted the inability of screen readers to "see the implicit structural and mobility knowledge encoded within the visual presentation of Web pages" [25]. Jay et al noted that the presentation of information assists in task completion and suggested that presentation aspects should be reintroduced to non-visual presentations [12]. Researchers have also conducted eye-tracking studies of sighted users in order to inform their design of new and improved assistive technologies [12,25].…”

“…Jay et al noted that the presentation of information assists in task completion and suggested that presentation aspects should be reintroduced to non-visual presentations [12]. Researchers have also conducted eye-tracking studies of sighted users in order to inform their design of new and improved assistive technologies [12,25]. These studies have proven useful only to a point because they do not ascertain directly how people interpret the layout, nor do they provide results that can be easily compared to the experiences of visually impaired people.…”