Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Creating questionnaires that align with ASL linguistic principles and cultural practices within the Deaf community

  Rachel Boll, Shruti Mahajan, Jeanne Reis, Erin T. Solovey (2020) — ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and The Learning Center for the Deaf addresses a fundamental gap in HCI research methodology: most interactive computing tools, including survey and questionnaire platforms, are designed exclusiv…

  • deaf
  • American Sign Language
  • questionnaire design
  • research methods
  • Deaf culture
  • linguistic accessibility
  • culturally responsive design

• Lost in Translation: Challenges and Barriers to Sign Language-Accessible User Research

  Amelie Unger, Dieter P. Wallach, Nicole Jochems (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This experience report describes the challenges hearing researchers face when conducting user research with sign language (SL) users, based on the authors' experience running remote focus groups with German Sign Language (GSL) users as part of the AV…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sign language
  • user research
  • focus groups
  • language accessibility
  • ability-based design
  • research methods
  • German Sign Language
  • inclusion

• Meeting Participants with Intellectual Disabilities during COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Improvisation

  Leandro Soares Guedes, Monica Landoni (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This short paper (poster) shares lessons learned from conducting participatory design research with adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the context of a project aimed at making museum visits more accessible, re…

  • intellectual disability
  • co-design
  • COVID-19
  • museum accessibility
  • participatory design
  • improvisation
  • research methods
  • cultural accessibility

• Expressive Bodies Engaging with Embodied Disability Cultures for Collaborative Design Critiques

  Katta Spiel, Robin Angelini (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This experience report explores how embodied approaches — using physical bodies to express critique rather than relying solely on spoken or signed language — can produce richer, more direct feedback when designing technologies with disabled communiti…

  • disability culture
  • participatory design
  • crip methodologies
  • embodied critique
  • autism
  • Deaf culture
  • sign language
  • neurodivergence
  • research methods

• It's Enactment Time!: High-fidelity Enactment Stage for Accessible Automated Driving System Technology Research

  Aaron Gluck, Hannah Solini, Julian Brinkley (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This pictorial paper documents the iterative design and construction of a high-fidelity enactment stage for researching accessible autonomous vehicle (AV) technology with older adults and people with disabilities. Autonomous vehicles hold transformat…

  • autonomous vehicles
  • accessible transportation
  • user enactment
  • older adults
  • physical disability
  • research methods
  • prototyping
  • human-machine interface
  • inclusive design

• A Workshop on Disability Inclusive Remote Co-Design

  Maryam Bandukda, Giulia Barbareschi, Aneesha Singh, Dhruv Jain, Maitraye Das, Tamanna Motahar, Jason Wiese, Lynn Cockburn, Amit Prakash, David Frohlich, Catherine Holloway (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 22)

  This workshop paper addresses how the COVID-19 pandemic forced accessibility researchers to adapt co-design methods from in-person to remote formats, and the unique challenges this created for research involving disabled and aging participants. While…

  • co-design
  • remote research
  • participatory design
  • disability inclusion
  • COVID-19
  • accessible platforms
  • research methods
  • Global South accessibility

• Designing with and for People with Intellectual Disabilities

  Leandro Soares Guedes, Ryan Colin Gibson, Kirsten Ellis, Laurianne Sitbon, Monica Landoni (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This workshop paper proposes a half-day community-building event at ASSETS '22 focused on sharing expertise in designing technologies with and for people with intellectual disabilities. The authors identify that while assistive technologies can signi…

  • intellectual disability
  • co-design
  • participatory design
  • assistive technology
  • inclusive design
  • cognitive accessibility
  • research methods
  • community building

• Where Are You Taking Me? Reflections from Observing Ridesharing Use By People with Visual Impairments

  Earl W. Huff Jr., Robin N. Brewer, Julian Brinkley (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents a methodological case study of conducting quasi-naturalistic observations of 17 blind or visually impaired participants using the Uber ridesharing service. Rather than reporting substantive findings about ridesharing accessibility…

  • visual impairment
  • ridesharing
  • transportation accessibility
  • observation study
  • mobile accessibility
  • research methods
  • blind and low vision

• From the Lab to People's Home: Lessons from Accessing Blind Participants' Interactions via Smart Glasses in Remote Studies

  Kyungjun Lee, Jonggi Hong, Ebrima Jarjue, Ernest Essuah Mensah, Hernisa Kacorri (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Maryland explores using smart glasses as an observational tool in remote usability studies with blind participants. The COVID-19 pandemic forced accessibility researchers to shift from in-person to remote methods, bu…

  • blindness and low vision
  • smart glasses
  • remote usability testing
  • user research
  • assistive technology
  • wearable technology
  • research methods

• Working at the Intersection of Race, Disability and Accessibility

  Harrington, Christina N., Desai, Aashaka, Lewis, Aaleyah, Moharana, Sanika, Ross, Anne Spencer, Mankoff, Jennifer (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper argues that accessibility research has systematically overlooked race as a meaningful construct, treating it at best as a shallow demographic variable while studying disability in isolation. The authors — a racially diverse team from Carne…

  • intersectionality
  • race
  • disability
  • social justice
  • critical race theory
  • accessibility research
  • equity
  • inclusion
  • research methods