Literature Reviews

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

• The Sharply Decreasing Disruptiveness of HCI

  Zhilong Chen, Yong Li (2025) — Proceedings of the 2025 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This large-scale bibliometric study by Chen and Li from Tsinghua University investigates the creativity of HCI research itself by measuring its "disruptiveness" — the degree to which a paper's contribution is recognised independently rather than mere…

  • bibliometric analysis
  • research methodology
  • creativity
  • human-computer interaction
  • disruptiveness
  • citation analysis
  • research trends

• Evaluation of Assistive Technologies from the perspective of Usability, User Experience and Accessibility: a Systematic Mapping Study

  Tatiany Xavier de Godoi, Guilherme Corredato Guerino, Natasha Malveira C. Valentim (2021) — Proceedings of the XX Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems (IHC)

  This systematic mapping study (SMS) investigates how assistive technologies (ATs) are evaluated from the perspectives of usability, user experience (UX), and accessibility — three interrelated but distinct software quality factors. The authors search…

  • assistive technology
  • usability
  • user experience
  • accessibility evaluation
  • systematic review
  • research methodology
  • AT abandonment
  • evaluation instruments
  • quality assurance

• Are Users the Gold Standard for Accessibility Evaluation?

  Amaia Aizpurua, Myriam Arrue, Simon Harper, Markel Vigo (2014) — Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper critically examines whether user testing with blind users is a reliable "gold standard" for web accessibility evaluation. Drawing on an exploratory study with 11 legally blind participants (10 JAWS users, 1 VoiceOver user, ages 21-64) who …

  • user testing
  • accessibility evaluation
  • blind users
  • screen readers
  • research methodology
  • bias
  • WCAG 2.0
  • participatory design
  • usability

• Prefigurative Politics and Passionate Witnessing

  Rua M. Williams, LouAnne E. Boyd (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This experience report traces the unlikely partnership between two researchers — Rua Williams, an autistic disability studies scholar and activist, and LouAnne Boyd, a former behaviour therapist turned HCI researcher — whose work initially placed the…

  • critical disability studies
  • autism
  • research ethics
  • disability justice
  • participatory design
  • research methodology
  • ableism
  • neurodiversity
  • reflexivity

• Accept or Address? Researchers' Perspectives on Response Bias in Accessibility Research

  Joy Ming, Sharon Heung, Shiri Azenkot, Aditya Vashistha (2021) — ASSETS '21: The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  Response bias — the tendency for participant responses to be skewed by factors beyond the actual research questions — is a concern in all human-subjects research, but it takes on unique dimensions in accessibility research. Ming et al. conducted semi…

  • research methodology
  • response bias
  • participant-researcher dynamics
  • disability identity
  • accessibility research
  • power dynamics
  • charity model of disability
  • ableism

• Accessibility Research and Users with Multiple Disabilities or Complex Needs

  Arthur Theil, Craig Anderton, Chris Creed, Nasrine Olson, Raymond John Holt, Sayan Sarcar (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023)

  This workshop paper argues that accessibility research has historically oversimplified disability by focusing on single categories of impairment, and calls for a fundamental shift toward inclusive research that addresses the needs of people living wi…

  • multiple disabilities
  • complex needs
  • assistive technology
  • research methodology
  • inclusive design
  • deafblindness
  • participatory design
  • disability studies

• A11yFutures: Envisioning the Future of Accessibility Research

  Jennifer Mankoff, Kelly Avery Mack, Jason Wiese, Kirk Andrew Crawford, Foad Hamidi (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023)

  This workshop paper proposes a framework for understanding the evolution of accessibility research through three "waves" and argues that the field needs to broaden significantly into what the authors call "third wave accessibility." The first wave of…

  • accessibility research
  • disability studies
  • inclusive design
  • intersectionality
  • research methodology
  • disability culture
  • participatory design