Should I Trust It When I Cannot See It?: Credibility Assessment for Blind Web Users

As users become increasingly more reliant on online resources to satisfy their information needs, care is needed to ensure that these resources are credible in nature, especially if a decision is to be taken based upon the information accessed. The credibility of a web site is known to be heavily influenced by its visual appearance. However, for individuals who are blind, challenges are often faced accessing these visual cues when using assistive technologies. In this paper, we describe an observational study to examine the strategies and workarounds developed by individuals who are blind to perform credibility assessments. These are compared with those used by sighted users. Findings from the study have highlighted the relationship between accessibility and credibility. The features used to form assessments non-visually have also been identified. Insights from the study can be used to support the design of highly credible interfaces for blind screen reader users.