Literature Reviews

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

• Investigating User Behavior for Authentication Methods: A Comparison between Individuals with Down Syndrome and Neurotypical Users

  Yao Ma, Jinjuan Feng, Libby Kumin, Jonathan Lazar (2013) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This groundbreaking study provides the first experimental research on how individuals with Down syndrome (DS) interact with web authentication mechanisms. The researchers conducted a six-week longitudinal study with 10 adults with DS (ages 18-39) and…

  • cognitive accessibility
  • Down syndrome
  • authentication
  • passwords
  • security
  • cognitive disability

• Understanding Authentication Method Use on Mobile Devices by People with Vision Impairment

  Daniella Briotto Faustino, Audrey Girouard (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2018)

  This Carleton University study presents the largest survey to date on how people with vision impairments use passwords and authentication methods on mobile devices. The researchers collected responses from 325 participants (225 blind, 100 low vision)…

  • blindness
  • low vision
  • mobile accessibility
  • authentication
  • security
  • privacy
  • passwords
  • biometrics
  • shoulder surfing

• Cognitive Function vs. Accessible Authentication: Insights from Dyslexia Research

  Jacques Ophoff, Graham Johnson, Karen Renaud (2021) — Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper explores the accessibility challenges that password-based authentication poses to people with dyslexia, arguing that accessibility is a neglected third dimension alongside the well-studied security and usability considerations. The authors…

  • cognitive accessibility
  • dyslexia
  • authentication
  • security
  • passwords
  • WCAG
  • cognitive disability