2007 PhD Thesis Final Revised.pdf - Curtin University

Once the survey was completed, a trial was necessary to ensure the
effectiveness of the questions. In February 2004, a trial of the survey had been
conducted with six blind and vision impaired Internet users. The trial participants
were students at Curtin University of Technology, studying a course teaching blind
and vision impaired people computing skills. The trial group consisted of six in
total, three people who were blind and three who were vision impaired. All three
blind users relied on the use of JAWS to access the online survey form whilst the
vision impaired group consisted of one person who used a screen magnification
program and two who were able to use a standard OS environment with minor colour
and text size changes. The aim of the trial was to verify that the methods of survey
distribution were appropriate in terms of the different formats. The users with vision
confirmed that that print was large enough for their vision and the blind users
confirmed that the Braille had been accurately converted from the print edition. All
six people involved in the trial proceeded to complete the survey via the online form
and confirmed that the survey was compatible with all forms of AT used. The trial
was conducted in a classroom environment and all surveys were completed at the
same time.
Feedback from the trial was generally positive with respondents stating that
they felt the questions provided a good overall assessment of computing and
Internet-related issues. Several questions were reworded slightly to improve the
grammatical nature of the survey but the overall meaning of all questions remained
unchanged in the final distribution. The negative comments produced by the trial
consisted of a reluctance to divulge all of the requested personal information
contained in Section A. There was also an objection to having to make ‘definite’
decisions on questions, such as Question 28, which asks if a person’s disability can
prevent them from using the Internet. Many in the trial would have liked to have
had a ‘sometimes’ option instead of making a decision. It was deemed prior to the
commencement of survey distribution that although these comments may be valid,
personal data were necessary to determine if factors such as levels of eyesight,
education and income levels were factors in preventing people from accessing
computing and Internet-related technologies. It was also decided that the selection of
questions would remain as a positive or negative response due to the need for clearly
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