Improving web accessibility: a study of webmaster perceptions (PDF format) is an excellent study that recently appeared in the Computers in Human Behavior journal 20 (2004) 269-288. The authors, (Jonathan Lazar, Alfreda Dudley-Sponaugle, and Kish-Dawn Greenidge), surveyed 175 webmasters to find out why webmasters do or don't create accessible sites. Specifically, the authors analyzed:
- Societal foundations
(How accessibilty is valued and advocated by the public) - Stakeholder perceptions
(What web developers and clients think of accessibility) - Web development
(Tools and guidelines available, initial designs, redesigns)
This was a great read. Below is my favorite excerpt (from the conclusion):
Given that tools and guidelines are available to help in building accessible web sites, and given that public policy generally supports web accessibility, it is surprising that so many web sites are inaccessible... Most webmasters that responded to the survey supported the concept of web accessibility, but cited roadblocks to accessibility such as lack of time, lack of training, lack of managerial support, lack of client support, inadequate software tools, and confusing accessibility guidelines. However, there were some webmasters that outright objected to the idea that web sites should be accessible, did not like the interference in "their" web design, and would only make web sites accessible if the government forced them to.