Please note: This study asks sighted people to describe what they are seeing visually and attempt to translate that into a text description. If you have a visual impairment and would like to contribute to this study please email accessiblemapping@gmail.com. Thank you.
Dear Participant,
You are invited to participate in a study conducted by Alecia Fowler at the University of Toronto. We hope to learn how to meaningfully describe a thematic map in order to improve the web accessibility of web-mapping applications.
If you decide to participate, we will present you with various thematic maps and ask you to describe through text, what you see and comprehend from the map, specifically concerning the thematic data being conveyed. A map is a visual tool and through analyzing your descriptions, we hope to understand what information is conveyed through images that are not available in a text format.
This study will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. You are not required to have any extensive knowledge of mapping to participate in this study. Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission or as required by law.
We hope to take the advantages thematic maps offer visually and translate it into a readable form. We need to formally identify these advantages and see how people naturally translate what they understand through vision into meaningful text. The results will then be what we base the design of a maps text description in order to present it to the visually impaired community for consideration.
If you have any questions regarding the details of the study, how your information will be collected and stored, or anything else regarding the research area, you are encouraged to contact the research staff below:
Your decision whether or not to participate will not prejudice your future relation with the University of Toronto. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time before the results are published. If you would like to be contacted after the study is completed, the results can be made available to you. The Office of Research Ethics at the University of Toronto has reviewed and approved the present research. Questions regarding the rights of research participants may be directed to:
Office of Research Ethics
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, 3rd floor
12 Queen's Park Crescent West
Toronto, ON M5S 1S8
Website
Email
416-946-3273
BY CHECKING THIS BOX YOU ARE MAKING THE DECISION TO PARTICIPATE AND THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ABOVE.