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

Abstract

Information seeking and access are essential for users in all walks of life, from addressing personal needs such as finding flights to locating information needed to complete work tasks. Over the past decade or so, the general needs of people with impairments have increasingly been recognized as something to be addressed, an issue embedded both in international treaties and in state legislation. The same tendency can be found in research, where a growing number of user studies including people with impairments have been conducted. The purpose of these studies is typically to uncover potential barriers for access to information, especially in the context of inaccessible search user interfaces. This literature review provides an overview of research on the information seeking and searching of users with impairments. The aim is to provide an overview to both researchers and practitioners who work with any of the user groups identified. Some diagnoses are relatively well represented in the literature (for instance, visual impairment), but there is very little work in other areas (for instance, autism) and in some cases no work at all (for instance, aphasia). Gaps are identified in the research, and suggestions are made regarding areas where further research is needed.

Can search result summaries enhance the web search efficiency and experiences of the visually impaired users?

“…The serial nature of the screen reader output reduces the speed at which the VI web users access the information during the exploration stage. Some studies [1,20] have suggested providing VI web users with an overview of the search results, and Berget and MacFarlane [21] stated that user interface design is a clear issue for VI users for navigating search results. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has yet suggested a mechanism to provide such an overview and change user interface design to enable easy navigation through the search results.…”

“…Furthermore, this process may be repeated if the desired goals are not met. Berget and MacFarlane's [21] literature review showed that interface design impacts the navigating and evaluating search results that are part of the search process.…”

Modelling the information seeking and searching behaviour of users with impairments: are existing models applicable?

“…The starting point of this paper was that few studies of people with impairments include user models (Berget and MacFarlane, 2020). Moreover, it has been claimed that existing models are not sufficient for describing characteristics specifically connected with the various impairments (Beverley et al, 2007).…”

“…These models have later been applied extensively (Wilson, 1999). Over the last decade, attention has increasingly been directed towards the information seeking and searching of users with impairments (Hill, 2013, Berget andMacFarlane, 2020). Studies on users with impairments, however, rarely include any models of information seeking and searching (Berget and MacFarlane, 2020).…”

Making Health Information Accessible for All: The Impact of Universal Design in Public Libraries

“…Consequently, digital libraries and online search systems can be suitable alternatives to visiting a physical library. However, online information searching can pose several barriers for people with disabilities, such as poorly designed search user interfaces, inaccessible information and incompatibility with assistive technology (Berget & MacFarlane, 2019). Many users with disabilities are therefore excluded from online health information, which can contribute to health disparities.…”