Conducting VR User Studies with People with Vision/Hearing Impairments: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

Wenge Xu; Craig Anderton; Kurtis Weir; Arthur Schievelbein Theil

doi:10.48550/arXiv.2504.07256

Conducting VR User Studies with People with Vision/Hearing Impairments: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

Wenge Xu^*, Craig Anderton, Kurtis Weir, Arthur Schievelbein Theil

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Working paper › Preprint

Abstract

There is a lack of virtual reality (VR) user studies that have been conducted involving people with vision/hearing impairments. This is due to the difficulty of recruiting participants and the accessibility barriers of VR devices. Based on the authors' experience conducting VR user studies with participants with vision/hearing impairments, this position paper identifies 5 key challenges (1. Recruitment, 2. Language Familiarity, 3. Technology Limitations and Barriers, 4. Access to Audio Cue, and 5. Travelling to the Experiment Location) and proposes strategic approaches to mitigate these challenges. In addition, we also presented three key considerations regarding understanding participants' lived experiences that could help the user study become accessible.

Original language	English
Publisher	arxiv
Number of pages	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2504.07256
Publication status	Published (VoR) - 9 Apr 2025

Funding

This work is supported by Royal Society Research Grant (𝑅𝐺∖𝑅1∖241114).

Keywords

Accessibility
User Studies
Inclusivity
Diversity
Virtual Reality

Access to Document

10.48550/arXiv.2504.07256

Cite this

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title = "Conducting VR User Studies with People with Vision/Hearing Impairments: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies",

abstract = "There is a lack of virtual reality (VR) user studies that have been conducted involving people with vision/hearing impairments. This is due to the difficulty of recruiting participants and the accessibility barriers of VR devices. Based on the authors' experience conducting VR user studies with participants with vision/hearing impairments, this position paper identifies 5 key challenges (1. Recruitment, 2. Language Familiarity, 3. Technology Limitations and Barriers, 4. Access to Audio Cue, and 5. Travelling to the Experiment Location) and proposes strategic approaches to mitigate these challenges. In addition, we also presented three key considerations regarding understanding participants' lived experiences that could help the user study become accessible.",

keywords = "Accessibility, User Studies, Inclusivity, Diversity, Virtual Reality",

author = "Wenge Xu and Craig Anderton and Kurtis Weir and \{Schievelbein Theil\}, Arthur",

note = "Accepted by CHI'25 workshop {"}The Third Workshop on Building an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse for All{"}, 26 April, Yokohama, Japan",

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AU - Anderton, Craig

AU - Weir, Kurtis

AU - Schievelbein Theil, Arthur

N1 - Accepted by CHI'25 workshop "The Third Workshop on Building an Inclusive and Accessible Metaverse for All", 26 April, Yokohama, Japan

PY - 2025/4/9

Y1 - 2025/4/9

N2 - There is a lack of virtual reality (VR) user studies that have been conducted involving people with vision/hearing impairments. This is due to the difficulty of recruiting participants and the accessibility barriers of VR devices. Based on the authors' experience conducting VR user studies with participants with vision/hearing impairments, this position paper identifies 5 key challenges (1. Recruitment, 2. Language Familiarity, 3. Technology Limitations and Barriers, 4. Access to Audio Cue, and 5. Travelling to the Experiment Location) and proposes strategic approaches to mitigate these challenges. In addition, we also presented three key considerations regarding understanding participants' lived experiences that could help the user study become accessible.

AB - There is a lack of virtual reality (VR) user studies that have been conducted involving people with vision/hearing impairments. This is due to the difficulty of recruiting participants and the accessibility barriers of VR devices. Based on the authors' experience conducting VR user studies with participants with vision/hearing impairments, this position paper identifies 5 key challenges (1. Recruitment, 2. Language Familiarity, 3. Technology Limitations and Barriers, 4. Access to Audio Cue, and 5. Travelling to the Experiment Location) and proposes strategic approaches to mitigate these challenges. In addition, we also presented three key considerations regarding understanding participants' lived experiences that could help the user study become accessible.

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KW - User Studies

KW - Inclusivity

KW - Diversity

KW - Virtual Reality

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BT - Conducting VR User Studies with People with Vision/Hearing Impairments: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

PB - arxiv

ER -

Conducting VR User Studies with People with Vision/Hearing Impairments: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

Abstract

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Keywords

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