Comparing Non-Visual and Visual Information Foraging on The Web

Abstract

Graphical user web interfaces (GUIs) afford visual consumption and sensemaking of information, but present challenges for auditory, and often sequential, information seeking for people using screen readers. Information foraging theory illustrates that users' information behavior is guided by the use of information scent (mostly visual in GUIs) to assess value and cost of accessing information relevant to their goal, and rational decisions to maximize gain of information. Previous research about adaptive browsing behavior of screen reader users is associated with a lack of webpage usability. In this study, we observed and compared the information seeking behavior of ten sighted and ten screen reader users. Findings show that screen reader users demonstrate adapted mental models of the visual information search interface. Additionally, their adaptive search result exploration strategies in the context of query intent highlight key concern areas in specific parts of the search process.