Methodology for the evaluation of health information by participants with low literacy skills

This poster presents a case study method developed for a pilot study investigating the evaluation of print- and text-based consumer health information by individuals who have low or limited literacy skills in English. The methodology is based on the theory of Everyday Life Information Seeking, usability research, community-based participatory research, and research with vulnerable populations

The Social Justice Imperative in Library and Information Science

This poster presents the theoretical framework and development of the Social Justice Collaboratorium, a project undertaken by the 2013 cohort of Spectrum Doctoral Fellows. This work in progress aims to develop a user-driven online tool for Library & Information Science faculty who wish to incorporate social justice into the LIS curriculum.ye

Digital Words: Moving Forward with Measuring the Readability of Online Texts

The readability of a digital text can influence people’s information acquisition (Wikipedia articles), online security (how-to articles), and even health (WebMD). Readability metrics can also alter search rankings and are used to evaluate AI system performance. However, prior work on measuring readability has significant gaps, especially for HCI applications. Prior work has (a) focused on grade-school texts, (b) ignored domain-specific, jargon-heavy texts (e.g., health advice), and (c) failed to compare metrics, especially in the context of scaling to use with online corpora. This paper addresses these shortcomings by comparing well-known readability measures and a novel domain-specific approach across four different corpora: crowd-worker generated stories, Wikipedia articles, security and privacy advice, and health information. We evaluate the convergent, discriminant, and content validity of each measure and detail tradeoffs in domain-specificity and participant burden. These results provide a foundation for more accurate readability measurements in HCI

Health Literacy Research Methods

This article describes a case study method developed for a user-centered health literacy pilot study involving vulnerable participants. The method is based on community-based and critical approaches to research and user-centered studies. The pilot study highlights specific challenges and benefits of working with community organizations and of conducting research with adults who are new or beginning readers. Special attention is given to the study design, selection of appropriate materials, and data collection methods in order to minimize bias, empower participants, and ensure data quality and validity

Methodology for the evaluation of health information by participants with low literacy skills

This poster presents a case study method developed for a pilot study investigating the evaluation of print- and text-based consumer health information by individuals who have low or limited literacy skills in English. The methodology is based on the theory of Everyday Life Information Seeking, usability research, community-based participatory research, and research with vulnerable populations

Ethical Tensions in Research: The Influence of Metatheoretical Orientation on Research Ethics

When developing one\u27s own research agenda, early and mid‐career researchers continually negotiate how best to meet ethical standards and resolve ethical constraints using methodologically sound approaches. Often such struggles occur behind closed doors, their outcomes reflected in the institutional language of an ethical review board. This panel seeks to bring these struggles to the forefront by having panelists who study various populations discuss how they approach ethical challenges in their research. Due to the nature of the groups these panelists study, the panel provides a context where the site of ethical struggles, challenges, and tensions are exacerbated. Key issues to be discussed are: informed consent, risks to participants, and research design and dissemination. Discussion of these issues will be oriented around each participant\u27s metatheoretical orientation to research in library and information science (LIS). Adopting such an approach will highlight some of the main challenges when engaging in ethical practices that may not align with institutional standards, as well as denote possible strategies for addressing them