Perception of Online Information Credibility by Screen Reader

Is Hearing Believing? Perception of Online Information Credibility by Screen Reader Users who are Blind or
Visually Impaired
by
Sambhavi Chandrashekar
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Information University of Toronto
© Copyright by Sambhavi Chandrashekar 2010.

Is Hearing Believing? Perception of Online Information Credibility by Screen Reader Users who are Blind or Visually Impaired

Abstract

Sambhavi Chandrashekar Doctor of Philosophy
Faculty of Information University of Toronto
2010

While credibility perception on the Web is a well-researched topic across multiple disciplines, extant studies have not considered nonvisual modalities of Web access. This research explored how Web users who are blind or visually impaired perceive the credibility of online information and how the screen reader used by them to interact with the Web mediates the process. Credibility perception was studied in the context of the screen reader users’ everyday information practices, examining in depth the effect of Web accessibility on their online information interactions, information practices and credibility perception.

Adopting an exploratory approach, a sequential multimethods research design was used. Between April and July 2008 data were collected from adult screen reader users residing in Ontario, Canada through an electronic questionnaire survey (N=60) to identify salient issues, which were then examined deeper through semi-structured interviews with a subsample (N=13) during June 2009. Hands-on online information activities (with participant observation and think-aloud protocol) were also conducted during the interview session. Primary findings emerged through qualitative content analysis of descriptive data, with quantitative results guiding and supplementing the analysis.
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Online information credibility perception is found to be a dynamic and social process. It is governed by users’ assumptions based on their past experiences, personal knowledge/beliefs and social inputs. Assumptions evolve over time and usage into personal heuristics. The credibility perception process spans three phases—prediction, evaluation and corroboration— permeating the information seeking, using and sharing practices of users. Evaluation of website and web content depends on users’ online interaction proficiency and is bounded by the interface affordances provided by the screen reader and the amount of meta-information provided by the websites for interpreting visual/spatial features. Community support scaffolds users towards more effective technology management and credibility perception. Therefore, promoting inclusion in the online participatory culture will enhance the information practices of screen reader users.
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Acknowledgments
I owe thanks to … my supervisors, Nadia Caidi and Stephen Hockema, who stood by me at every step in this
journey and ensured that I would make it to the winning post; my mentor, Jutta Treviranus, who helped me discover my life purpose and provided the
opportunities to work towards fulfilling it; my examination committee members, Lynne Howarth and Soo Young Rieh, who were so
full of grace in their pronouncements about my dissertation; my editor, Caroline Kaiser, without whose prompt and meticulous work I could barely
have been able to meet all those deadlines; my Latte Ladies cohort, whose feedback, friendship and fun company meant a lot to me
during the tough times; my supporters at the Faculty and in the University who helped make the past five years
some of the best years in my life; my screen reading friends, without whose participation my research would not have been
so effective; my long-time friends, local and global, who believed I would surely make it some day
and always remembered to say so; my core and extended family, who patiently and lovingly let me go where my heart
wished and gave me all that I needed; my Sai, who does everything for me while I pretend to be doing them.
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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................................................................... IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................V
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ........................................................................................................................ IX
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................1
1.1 RESEARCH CONTEXT ........................................................................................................................................1 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RESEARCH PURPOSE .............................................................................................7 1.3 RESEARCH APPROACH ....................................................................................................................................11 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH ...................................................................................................................12 1.5 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................................14
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ............................................15
2.1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................15 2.2 RESEARCH APPROACH FROM A DISABILITY STUDIES PERSPECTIVE ...............................................................15 2.3 INFORMATION PRACTICES...............................................................................................................................18 2.4 CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION...............................................................................................................................21
2.4.1 Trustworthiness of Websites ...................................................................................................................22 2.4.2 Quality of Web Content ..........................................................................................................................23 2.4.3 System Approach and Process Approach to Credibility Studies............................................................25 2.5 WEB ACCESSIBILITY .......................................................................................................................................28 2.5.1 Screen Reader Online Interactions ........................................................................................................28 2.5.2 Accessibility of Websites ........................................................................................................................31 2.5.3 Ability and Motivation............................................................................................................................34 2.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................35 2.7 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................................40
CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................41
3.1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................41 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN .........................................................................................................................................42
3.2.1 Electronic Survey. ..................................................................................................................................43 3.2.2 Hands-on Online Information Activities. ...............................................................................................44 3.2.3 Semi-structured Interview. .....................................................................................................................45 3.3 RESEARCH IMPLEMENTATION.........................................................................................................................46 3.3.1 Sampling and Recruitment. ....................................................................................................................46 3.3.2 Research Instruments. ............................................................................................................................48 3.3.3 Research Process. ..................................................................................................................................52
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3.3.4 Data Analysis. ........................................................................................................................................58 3.4 TRUSTWORTHINESS OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS ...........................................................................................61
3.4.1 Credibility...............................................................................................................................................61 3.4.2 Dependability. ........................................................................................................................................62 3.4.3 Transferability. .......................................................................................................................................62 3.5 SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................................63
CHAPTER 4 – PARTICIPANT DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................64
4.1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................64 4.2 PARTICIPANT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................................................64
4.2.1 Summary Profile.....................................................................................................................................64 4.2.2 Demographics. .......................................................................................................................................66 4.2.3 Tools Used for Online Interaction..........................................................................................................70 4.2.4 Motivation for Using Online Information. .............................................................................................74 4.2.5 Ability to Interact with the Web..............................................................................................................77 4.3 ONLINE INTERACTION PROFICIENCY...............................................................................................................84 4.3.1 Expertise. ................................................................................................................................................85 4.3.2 Experience. .............................................................................................................................................87 4.3.3 Troubleshooting and Technology Support. ............................................................................................88 4.3.4 Training Received...................................................................................................................................89 4.3.5 Screen Reader Speech Rate. ...................................................................................................................91 4.4 PERSONAS BASED ON ONLINE INTERACTION PROFICIENCY DATA .................................................................94 4.4.1 Holly Hughes, Accessibility Consultant. ................................................................................................96 4.4.2 Mina Mansoor, Student. .........................................................................................................................96 4.4.3 Laura Lessig, Homemaker .....................................................................................................................97 4.5 A SCENARIO OF WEB PAGE NAVIGATION USING THE JAWS SCREEN READER .............................................98 4.6 SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................100
CHAPTER 5 – ONLINE INFORMATION INTERACTIONS ...........................................................................101
5.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................101 5.2 PHENOMENOLOGICAL ROLE OF THE SCREEN READER ..................................................................................102 5.3 ONLINE INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY—A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONCEPT.................................................105 5.4 DIMENSIONS OF ONLINE INFORMATION ACCESSIBILITY...............................................................................108
5.4.1 Screen Reader Capabilities/Limitations...............................................................................................109 5.4.2 Web Design and Meta-Information ......................................................................................................113 5.4.3 User’s Online Interaction Proficiency .................................................................................................115 5.5 SCREEN READER MEDIATION OF ONLINE INFORMATION INTERACTIONS .....................................................118 5.5.1 Orientation/Navigation Within and Across Websites/Web Pages........................................................119 5.5.2 Location/Interpretation of Relevant Web Content ...............................................................................125
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5.6 TECHNOLOGY OPACITY ................................................................................................................................130 5.7 SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................134
CHAPTER 6 – ONLINE INFORMATION PRACTICES ...................................................................................136
6.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................136 6.2 INFORMATION SEEKING ................................................................................................................................137
6.2.1 Information Sources .............................................................................................................................137 6.2.2 Online Information Seeking Strategies.................................................................................................140 6.2.3 Screen Reader Mediation in Online Information Seeking....................................................................141 6.3 INFORMATION USE........................................................................................................................................152 6.3.1 Online Information Activities ...............................................................................................................152 6.3.2 Screen Reader Mediation in Online Information Use..........................................................................155 6.4 INFORMATION SHARING................................................................................................................................162 6.4.1 Use of Online Collaboration Technologies and Tools .........................................................................162 6.4.2 Participation in Online Communities...................................................................................................167 6.4.3 Screen Reader Mediation in Online Information Sharing ...................................................................169 6.5 SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................170
CHAPTER 7 – ONLINE INFORMATION CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION ....................................................171
7.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................171 7.2 ONLINE CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION AS A DYNAMIC PROCESS .......................................................................173
7.2.1 User Assumptions/Heuristics ...............................................................................................................174 7.2.2 Predictive Information Evaluation (Website selection) .......................................................................176 7.2.3 Interactive Information Evaluation (Website Use) ..............................................................................182 7.2.4 Information Corroboration ..................................................................................................................191 7.2.5 Community Involvement .......................................................................................................................194 7.2.6 Context of Information Interaction.......................................................................................................197 7.3 SCREEN READER MEDIATION OF ONLINE INFORMATION CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION....................................199 7.4 A PROCESS MODEL FOR ONLINE INFORMATION CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION .................................................201 7.5 SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................208
CHAPTER 8 – DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................210
8.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................210 8.2 SCREEN READER INTERFACE AFFORDANCES AS FACILITATORS OF CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION ....................210
8.2.1 Interaction Affordances........................................................................................................................211 8.2.2 Semantic Affordances ...........................................................................................................................215 8.2.3 Social Affordances................................................................................................................................217 8.3 COMMUNITY AS A COMPONENT OF THE CREDIBILITY PERCEPTION PROCESS ...............................................219 8.4 ONLINE PARTICIPATION AS A MEANS FOR INFORMATION INCLUSION ..........................................................225
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8.5 SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................................231 CHAPTER 9 – CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................232
9.1 RESEARCH SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................232 9.2 CONTRIBUTIONS ...........................................................................................................................................235 9.3 LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH...........................................................................238 9.4 FINAL REMARKS ...........................................................................................................................................240 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................................242 LIST OF APPENDICES ..........................................................................................................................................253 APPENDIX I – STUDY ANNOUNCEMENT........................................................................................................254 APPENDIX II – SURVEY INFORMATION LETTER AND CONSENT FORM ............................................255 APPENDIX III – SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE...................................................................................................258 APPENDIX IV – INTERVIEW INFORMATION LETTER AND CONSENT FORM ...................................270 APPENDIX V – INTERVIEW GUIDE ..................................................................................................................273 APPENDIX VI – JAWS WEB TIPS COLLATED FROM RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ............................279
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List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1.1. Computer Use by Location, Persons with and without Disabilities, Canada, 2000 .... 4 Figure 1.2. Internet Use, Persons with and without Disabilities, Canada, 2000............................. 4 Figure 1.3. Research Space ............................................................................................................. 8 Figure 2.1. Conceptual Framework .............................................................................................. 39 Table 3.1. Breakdown of survey questions along the conceptual framework dimensions ........... 50 Figure 4.1. Participant distribution by age.................................................................................... 66 Figure 4.2. Participant distribution by gender .............................................................................. 66 Figure 4.3. Participant distribution by education.......................................................................... 67 Table 4.1. Participant Distributions by Age and Gender .............................................................. 67 Table 4.2. Participant Distributions by Education and Gender .................................................... 67 Table 4.3. History of Visual Web Access..................................................................................... 69 Figure 4.4. Participant distribution by residential location........................................................... 69 Table 4.4. Computer Type Used ................................................................................................... 70 Table 4.5. Browser Used............................................................................................................... 71 Table 4.6. Internet Connection...................................................................................................... 71 Table 4.7. Access Locations ......................................................................................................... 71 Table 4.8. Screen Reader Used ..................................................................................................... 73 Table 4.9. JAWS Version Used .................................................................................................... 73 Table 4.10. Attitude Towards the Web ......................................................................................... 74 Figure 4.5. How wise is using the Web as an information source? .............................................. 75 Figure 4.6 How beneficial is using the Web as an information source?....................................... 75 Table 4.11. Concerns About Using Online Information............................................................... 76 Table 4.12. Propensity to Trust..................................................................................................... 77 Figure 4.7. Frequency of Computer Use....................................................................................... 78
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Figure 4.8. Frequency of Web Use ............................................................................................... 78 Figure 4.9. Duration of computer and screen reader use .............................................................. 79 Figure 4.10. Duration of email use ............................................................................................... 79 Table 4.13. Frequency of Computer/Internet Use ........................................................................ 80 Table 4.14. Duration of Computer/Internet Use ........................................................................... 80 Table 4.15. Email use.................................................................................................................... 81 Table 4.16. Self-perceived Technology Expertise ........................................................................ 81 Figure 4.11. Expertise in using a computer .................................................................................. 82 Figure 4.12. Expertise in using a screen reader ............................................................................ 82 Figure 4.13. Expertise in using the Web....................................................................................... 83 Table 4.17. Self-perceived Technology Expertise (STE) ............................................................. 86 Table 4.18. Experience with the Computer, JAWS, and the Internet ........................................... 88 Table 4.19. Self-perceived Technology Expertise (STE) and Overall Online Interaction Proficiency .................................................................................................................................... 91 Table 4.20. JAWS speech rate ...................................................................................................... 92 Figure 5.1. Screen shot of the web page http://commcent.org/ .................................................. 109 Figure 5.2. Fangs screen reader emulator output for the page http://commcent.org/ ................. 110 Table 6.1. Information Sources................................................................................................... 138 Table 6.2. Online Information-seeking Strategies ...................................................................... 140 Figure 6.1. Screen shot of the Google results for a search on “swine flu prevention” ............... 147 Figure 6.2. Screen reader ouput of the Google results for a search on "swine flu prevention" .. 148 Table 6.3. Online Information Activities .................................................................................... 153 Table 6.4. Online Collaboration.................................................................................................. 163 Figure 6.3. Blog use .................................................................................................................... 164 Figure 6.4. Wiki use.................................................................................................................... 165 Figure 6.5. Participation in social networking sites .................................................................... 167
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