Experiences of Orientation & Mobility Trainers with Technology
Overview
A study was conducted with 12 Orientation and Mobility (O&M) trainers working in India, an example of a low to middle-income country (LMIC). We inquired about experiences gaining training, instructing others on O&M techniques, the use of technologies to support O&M training, along with perceptions of how O&M practices vary outside of India.
My Role: Solo UX Researcher
Team Size: 1 person and 2 co-authors
Methods: Interviewing, Thematic Analysis
Methodology: Exploratory Qualitative Research
My Contribution: Literature review, participant recruitment, interview scheduling, interviewing, preparing transcripts, summarizing the transcripts, thematic analysis, co-writing research paper
Participant Recruitment
In the process of participant recruitment, I initiated contact with multiple Blind organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across India to identify available Orientation and Mobility (O&M) trainers. Following a series of cold calls to both government and non-government entities, I managed to secure a few participants directly. Subsequently, employing the snowballing method, I successfully expanded the participant pool, ultimately recruiting around 12 participants. This approach allowed for the efficient identification and engagement of relevant individuals for the project.
Literature Review
I conducted a literature review by searching for published papers within the ACM library, various journals, and other platforms. I focused on Orientation & Mobility research conducted in India, along with a selection of international articles. This process enabled me to identify gaps in the existing research and formulate relevant questions for the interview phase.
Interviews
The interview process I conducted involved semi-structured questions, ranging from 15-20 based on the participants' responses, with a total of 12 participants from various parts of the country. To accommodate the language preferences of the participants, the interviews were conducted in English, Hindi, and Kannada. I ran and transcribed the interviews in English and Hindi, leveraging my proficiency. For interviews in Kannada, assistance was sought from individuals fluent in the language to ensure accurate transcription and understanding.
Analysis
Following the interviews, I summarized the discussions, highlighting the key themes. By applying thematic analysis to the transcripts, I identified and categorized recurring patterns and insights, which facilitated a deeper understanding of the collected data. This approach enabled an organized and focused analysis, allowing for extracting meaningful information from the interviews.