Why the article is helpful
- The authors consider whether it is ethical to use people with disabilities to test the usability of a system that you know to be hard to use, and may, therefore, cause them unnecessary pain or discomfort.
- Recommends that all products be briefly pre-tested for accessibility and user interface design, as well as best-practice guidelines, before undergoing testing with participants.
The article cites an example of a kiosk-type interface, used with a two-button switch device that required as many as 1200 button presses, a number likely to be tiring or painful. Instead, they conducted a detailed user interface review and accessibility compliance inspection with experts in the use of this sort of assistive technology
Additional details
The article cites a number of research ethics codes:
- UPA Code of Conduct (and similar codes from related professional societies, including STC, HFES, APA, ACM, IEEE)
- U.S. Federal policy and international policies
- International Compilation of Human Research Protections (2014, pdf)
Links to the article
Swierenga, S., Pierce, G. (2012). Should We Conduct this Usability Study? Ethics Considerations in Evaluations. User Experience Magazine, 11(4).