[Blindmath] Stata

[Godfrey, Jonathan]

Hello,

It's been a few years since I last tested Stata, but the creation of the text log for your results was the optimal way for anyone using a screen reader to get the output. If you save that log file with a txt extension you will be able to open it in a browser and use the refresh key to update it periodically. Access to the results window is likely to be limited in its usefulness because I suspect you find it hard to extract the results for inclusion in any reports you need to write.

I've held any claims about s508 compliance and statistical software in contempt for some time. I've demonstrated that the VPAT statements made by some companies are either plain wrong, or so far from the truth as to be misleading. There are several exceptions to this (SAS and maybe SPSS) but Minitab has made statements about its software that I have demonstrated to be completely untrue. I have not investigated the formal documentation of Stata because it is not commonly used in undergraduate settings. I'd like to see how Stata makes this claim.

I am interested in the comments from Stata about NVDA being a superior option. I do not see why this is the case given the workflow that is necessary to get the desired output. If you could send copies of any communications received to me off list a.j.godfrey at massey.ac.nz I can follow up on them.

Good luck with Stata,
Jonathan
 



-----Original Message-----
From: Blindmath [mailto:blindmath-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shickeytha Chandler via Blindmath
Sent: Tuesday, 1 September 2015 10:56 a.m.
To: blindmath at nfbnet.org
Cc: Shickeytha Chandler
Subject: [Blindmath] Stata

Hi all,

I am doing a graduate-level research project that involves working with a rather large data set (99 variables, over 2 million observations). I am just beginning to learn Stata. Their website indicates that the software is Section 508 compliant... However, my correspondence with Stata technical support has proven less than helpful. First, they advised me that NVDA is much more compatible with Stata than JAWS. So, since NVDA is available free of charge (and because I have been wanting to explore NVDA anyway), I downloaded it.
I immediately noticed that NVDA was not reading the results window, and, in fact, there were some things that JAWS was reading that NVDA did not read. Then I discovered that I could create a text log and save my sessions that way, and when I opened the separate text file, it would read everything from the results window. That seems to be working, but I am not yet proficient enough with the software to really know if it is copying everything it is supposed to copy into the text log (and subsequently reading everything to me via screen reader). When I told tech support that the results window was not being read, they advised adjusting the scrollback buffer to 32 under the "preferences" menu. I went there only to find that this setting involves a sliding bar and has no alternative way to adjust the setting (such as check box, combo box, button, etc.) To my knowledge, no screen reader can adjust slider bars. (Please correct me if I'm
uninformed.)

Anyway, the bottom line is I am wondering if anyone can provide me with any guidance on using JAWS or NVDA with Stata. Thanks in advance for any advice or resources.

Cheers,

Shickeytha

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