Deaf-friendly research – conducting research using an electronic questionnaire

Abstract

A non-exclusive approach in conducting survey-based research which assumes the participation of people with disabilities is one of the important ethical aspects of the research process. The use of the tool, which has been designed in accordance with the universal user-oriented design, makes it possible for people with disabilities to take an active part in surveys. This means that they can present their attitudes and express opinions within the conducted surveys. The aim of the article is to present the issue of conducting surveys using an electronic questionnaire among deaf people, modelled on the Avatar PJM project. People with a hearing impairment, whose first or primary language used for communication is a sign language, should be given a questionnaire in an appropriate form enabling them to complete it easily. The discussed project presents a proposal to construct a questionnaire using the LimeSurvey software. The questionnaire has been adapted to the needs and expectations of the recipient group. The presented solution for designing a user-friendly research tool can be used in other types of research in this group of respondents (e.g. industrial or educational research) or can become an inspiration for further research in this field.