What are we doing ?
We have been commissioned by Guide Dogs for the Blind to
conduct in-depth ethnographic and human factors research on the travel
behaviour and journey information needs of the blind and partially sighted
people.
How will we do this ?
We would use simple methods like informal interviews,
observations, walkthrough activities, audio / video dairies collection and
focus groups with participants to collect data. This data will then be analysed
and turned into useful insights for the Guide Dogs stakeholders’ team.
Who do we want to
talk to ?
We would like to talk to blind and partially sighted people
of different ages (young, middle aged, older people), people who use or don’t
use technology or mobility aids (cane, GPS) for travel, people with varying
degrees of residual vision, people with multiple disabilities, people who were
born blind or lost sight later in their life, those with recent and long-term
diagnosis of eyesight condition. We would also like to talk to the support
network of visually impaired people – their families, carers, friends,
community help etc.
We would like to conduct :
* 40 to 50
one-on-one interviews
* 8 observed
intermodal journeys (a mix of taxi, bus, train,underground, tram, ferry, plane,
walking)
* 4 to 5 audio or
video diaries
* 3 workshops
(6 to eight people in each)
Ideally we want to cover the broad demographic and include
some geographic variations as well. Reimbursement of any expenses and a token gesture
as a ‘thank you’ for participation will be provided to the participants, which
can be discussed as we proceed further in making contact.
What do we want to
achieve ?
The outcomes of this research would be to inform Guide Dogs
for the blind and their Strategy, Innovation and Media teams to help create
better understanding of the emotional, physical and social challenges faced by
visually impaired people while travelling. This would help identify areas of
development of suitable products, technologies to support the daily travel
needs of blind and partially sighted people.
How can you help ?
We are looking to talk to visually impaired people. You can
help the study by directing us to them or referring us to an organisation or a
local charity in the UK who supports visually impaired people.
The main contacts for the project are :
By email - Selene - selene.robinson@ccd.org.uk or
Neha - neha.gupta@ccd.org.uk
By phone - 020 7593 2900
