[Blindmath] question from university ombudsperson on behalf of a blind university student

[Shickeytha Chandler]

Hello,

I am a graduate student majoring in Public Administration. This
semester, I am taking a Research Methods class as well as working on
quantitative research in another class. There are certainly
challenges, but I have found a few workarounds that might be helpful.

First, if you can get data sets in Excel format, that can be very
helpful. Obviously, Excel is not the best program for statistical
purposes, but there is an Excel add-on called the Data Analysis
toolpack that is helpful for doing things like regressions, and I have
found this add-on to be accessible using JAWS screen reading software.

Second, in reading academic research articles with quantitative
tables, I have found that pdf format is not always ideal. While the
text sections in pdf documents will often be very compatible with
screen readers, sometimes the tables are not formatted as tables.
Thus, the reader will read, for example, all of the column headings
consecutively, and then read the numbers row by row, making it
difficult to determine which number goes in which column. If research
articles are available in word or html format, that can be helpful. In
these formats, tables are usually formatted so that screen reader
users can navigate through them using table navigation keys (such as
control plus alt plus arrow keys). Many articles in my university's
library database will have options for viewing the full text either in
pdf format or html format, and I usually find the html versions more
accessible.

Finally, I am not familiar with SPSS, but I have been working with
Stata this semester. I have found that creating a text log to save my
commands and results is the most effective way to work with Stata. It
is just a text document, and it certainly does not have formatted
tables, so there are some of the same issues with Stata that exist
with pdf documents. However, I have found that as I become more
familiar with Stata, I have memorized the standard column headings for
commonly used functions (such as regression) and this helps me to know
which numbers go with which column. Additionally, one-on-one training
for a student from the professor can be helpful. One of my profs spent
about an hour working with me to make sure that the key commands I was
using to perform data analysis functions were consistent with the
results obtained by my peers who used the mouse to point and click.
(In case you are not aware, most screen reader users only use keyboard
commands and not the mouse.)

I hope this is helpful.

Shickeytha

On 11/30/15, Gaylen Kapperman via Blindmath <blindmath at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Folks, here is a situation posed by an ombudsperson on behalf of a blind
> university student. Any suggestions or recommendations would be most
> welcome. Please send them my way and I will be more than appreciative and
> will forward them to said ombudsperson...Here is the situation to quote from
> her e-mail to me....
> I have never done social science research, as my background is in law.  It
> seems to be a huge challenge for both the DRC and for students with visual
> impairments who are struggling with the immense nature of translating
> charts, math problems, and statistical information into braille.  It feels
> as though there has to be a better way or more effective way to work.  But
> maybe I am wrong.  I don't know.  If you would be willing to post the
> question though, I would sincerely appreciate it.
>
> So, this is the question - What tools do social scientists with visual
> impairments use to do research?  Does a tool exist that is effective and
> practical for use in translating SPSS, charts, and math into something truly
> workable for individuals with profound visual impairments?
>
> Thank you again for your help,
>
>
>
> Thanks again.
> Gaylen Kapperman
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blindmath mailing list
> Blindmath at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindmath_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Blindmath:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindmath_nfbnet.org/shickeytha%40gmail.com
> BlindMath Gems can be found at
> <http://www.blindscience.org/blindmath-gems-home>
>