CDCI Website Accessibility & Usability Study

CDCI Research, April 2025

Website: Feedback wanted

The UVM Center on Disability & Community Inclusion is building a new website. We’re looking for people with disabilities or people with an immediate family member with a disability. We want you to give us feedback on what makes a good website.

This feedback would look like taking a 6-question survey, and then taking part in a video interview over Zoom. The video interview should take between 30 and 60 minutes total. We will use this information to improve our website and as a research study.

Do you have a disability or do you have a family member with a disability? If so, we want to hear from you. If you complete both the survey and the video interview, CDCI will pay you $40.00 for your time.

To sign up for the study, please fill out our online contact form. Choose the “Sign me up for the UX Research Study” button under “How can we help?”

A person sitting at an open laptop looking at the CDCI homepage and drinking coffee. Text: Website: feedback wanted

Title of Study: CDCI Website Accessibility and Usability

Principal Investigator: Audrey Homan
Faculty Sponsor: Jesse C. Suter
Funder: United States Health and Human Services, Administration on Community Living

Introduction

You are invited to take part in this research study to share your feedback about our website.

You are eligible to participate as an adult (18 years or older) and because you are a person with a disability or close family member of a person with a disability. We recently redesigned the website to improve accessibility and usability.

Purpose

We are asking you to complete a short online survey and participate in a 30 to 60 minute meeting. The purpose of both is to get your feedback about the accessibility and usability of our website. This information will be used to make our website better. The information will also be used to understand how other websites can improve.

Study Procedures

If you take part in the study, you will first complete a 10-minute online survey. The survey has questions about disability and demographics. You may choose not to answer any question on the survey. After you complete the survey, we will schedule a meeting to talk more about your feedback. This meeting can happen on Zoom and will take 30 to 60 minutes. This meeting will be recorded.

Benefits

No direct benefit is expected for you as a participant in this research study. However, information from this study may benefit other people now or in the future.

Risks

We will do our best to protect the information we collect from you during this study. We will also not ask sensitive questions that could put you at potential risk.

Costs

There will be no costs to you for participation in this research study.

Compensation

You will be reimbursed for your time and inconvenience for taking part in this research study. You will receive a $40 gift card for participating in the survey and 30 to 60 minute meeting.

University of Vermont Research Payment Information Requirement

You will be required to provide your name and address each time you receive payment. You will also be requested to provide your social security number if the amount of the payment is $100 or if the total payments from UVM are equal to or greater than $600 in a calendar year. If you are not a US Citizen or Permanent Resident, you will be required to complete additional paperwork including your immigration status for payment. This information will be strictly confidential and will be used for tax withholding and reporting purposes only and will allow the University to determine your US residency for federal income tax purposes.

Confidentiality

Your survey information will be kept in secure, encrypted, and password protected databases by the University of Vermont. Only the principal investigator and faculty sponsor will have access to data from the survey and meeting.

Your data will be stored with a code number, not your name. We will keep the list of names and codes in a secure location separate from your data.

The data set with a code will be securely stored until the end of the project (June 30, 2028). At that time codes will be removed so there will be no way to connect your data to you. Data without codes will be securely stored for 10 years to meet federal requirements.

We will use email to send you links to the online survey. Please note email communication is neither private nor secure. Though we are taking precautions to protect your privacy, you should be aware that information sent through e-mail could be read by a third party.

Voluntary Participation/Withdrawal

Taking part in this study is voluntary. You are free to not answer any questions or withdraw at any time. You may choose not to take part in this study, or if you decide to take part, you can change your mind later and withdraw. If you withdraw, your data will be deleted.

Questions

If you have any questions about this study now or in the future, you may contact Audrey Homan at 802-656-4031 or Jesse Suter at 802-656-1130. If you have questions or concerns about your rights as a research participant, then you may contact the Director of the Research Protections Office at irb@uvm.edu or 802-656-5040.