Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Volume 2, Number 4, 1997
Is Disability Research Useful? A Word from the Director
How Do Consumers Get Information They Can Use?
→ Preliminary Findings and Implications
Initial results from the consumer survey are presented below. The responses of all consumers to each question are reported. The consumer group was then divided into four regions to see if any differences were identified. These regions, based on census reporting, are Northeast (NE), South (S), Northcentral (NC), and West (W).
Question One
The most frequent way consumers get information is through 'Popular Media' (76%), which included television, radio, movies, and videos. 'Print Media' (73%) including books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, brochures, etc.) was also reported by consumers as a frequent information source. 'Non-print Media' (Braille, audio tapes, readers) was least frequently identified by consumers. The table below shows the percentage of consumers who reported using these information sources.
A few regional differences were observed. Consumers from the South reported higher use of 'Popular Media' (79%) and consumers from the Northeast had higher responses for 'Print Media' (77%) than the total group of consumers. Consumers in the West identified 'Professional People' (58%) as an information source less often than consumers in other regions. Respondents from the Northeast reported 'Other People' as an information source more often (72%) than the other groups, while those from the South identified 'Other People' less often (64%) than did consumers in other regions. This split between the Northeast and the South was also reflected in their responses to 'Groups' as an information source. Consumers in the Northeast identified 'Groups' more often (67%) than did all consumers, while those in the South reported 'Groups' less often (58%). Consumers from the Western region identified 'Computers' more often (32%) than other regions or all consumers.
Question Two
The most frequent response was 'Regular Print' (66%) and the least frequent responses were 'Braille' (5%) and 'Non-English Language' (3%). The table below shows the percentage of consumers who preferred to receive information through the various information formats.
Fewer regional differences were observed among responses to this question. Consumers from the Northeast and the West reported slightly lower preferences for 'Video Tape' (32%) while Northcentral consumers reported a higher preference for 'Video Tape' (40%) than did consumers as a whole.
Question Three
Do you ever get information from the Internet?
The response choices for this question were 'Don't Know,' 'Never,' 'Only Once/Twice,' 'Often,' and 'Very Often.' Over 50% of the consumers indicated that they have 'Never' used the Internet to obtain information, while 4% responded 'Don't Know.' Only 25% of consumers reported using the Internet 'Often' or 'Very Often' to get information. The graph below illustrates consumer responses to Question Three.
Some regional differences were noted in response to the question about use of the Internet. Fewer consumers in the West reported 'Never' using the Internet to get information (46%), while those in Northcentral region had a higher response of 'Never' (56%) than did the group of consumers as a whole.
Question Four
Is information from disability research useful to you?
The response choices were: 'Yes,' 'No,' and 'Don't Know.' Responses to Question Four showed the majority of consumers (72%) believe this type of information is useful, with 'Don't Know' (20%) as the next most frequent response selected. Only 8% of consumers responded 'No,' that information from disability research is not useful to them. The graph below illustrates the responses of consumers.
Consumers from the South had a much lower response to 'Don't Know' (14%) and a higher response to 'No' (13%) than consumers from other regions. Northcentral consumers responded 'Yes,' information from disability research is important to them, more often (75%) than consumers as a whole or from any other region.
Question Five
Do you know how to find information from disability research?
The response choices were: Yes (48%), No (32%), and Don't Know (20%). Less than half of the consumers stated that they know how to find disability research information.
Fewer regional differences were observed. Consumers from the Northcentral regional reported fewer 'Don't Know' responses (16%) while Western consumers responded 'Don't Know' (23%) more often than other groups or than all consumers.
D8
Summary
The data from the consumer survey help give a tentative picture of what consumers around the country identify as usual and preferred sources of information, as well as an indication of their current use of the Internet, and their perceptions about the importance and accessibility of disability research information. A general description of perceptions of 'the average consumer' can be drawn from this information. A comparison with the information formats and modes used by researchers to disseminate information should be made to see if there is a match with what consumers use and prefer to use.
Over three-quarters of consumers identified 'Popular Media,' including television, radio, movies, and videos as a source of information. Nearly as many also identified 'Print Media.' People, including professionals and others, as well as 'Groups,' were identified as information sources by about two-thirds of consumers. 'Computers' and 'Non-Print Media' were identified as information sources by one-third or fewer of the consumers.
The ways consumers prefer to get information were also varied. Only two-thirds of consumers identified 'Regular Print' as a preferred format. 'Video Tape,' the second most preferred format, was identified by over one-third of consumers. 'Audio Tape,' 'Computer' (disk and on-line), and 'Large Print' were preferred by over one-quarter of the consumers who responded to the survey.
Use of the Internet reflected the responses about computer use in the first two questions. About one-fourth of consumers reported using the Internet 'Often' or 'Very Often,' while the great majority of consumers used the Internet 'Never' or 'Only Once/Twice.' Regional differences show more use of the Internet by consumers in the West, and less by those in the Northcentral region.
New questions emerge when responses to the two questions about information from disability research are compared. The comparative graph on the following page shows that although nearly three-quarters of consumers responded that information from disability research is useful to them, less than half report that they know how to find this information. The issue of accessibility of information for people with disabilities is undoubtedly reflected in these responses. A much larger percentage of consumers reported they do not know how to get information generated by disability research (32%), than those who felt such information was not important (8%). The number who responded 'Don't Know' was the same for both questions (20%). These data reflect a potential issue related to disability research dissemination strategies currently in practice.
Who is the "average consumer?"
From the information about consumers reported in this brief survey, a "typical consumer" in the NCDDR survey can be described. This typical consumer uses popular and print media as information sources, and does not use a computer as a primary information tool. The average consumer prefers regular print, followed by video tape and audio tape formats. The typical consumer has very little or no experience using the Internet, although this varies across regions. Finally, the average consumer believes that information from disability research is important, but may not know how to find this information.
References
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.A. Sect. 12101 et seq. (West 1993).
Edwards, L. (1991). Using knowledge and technology to improve the quality of life of people who have disabilities: A prosumer approach. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania College of Optometry.
Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU). (1996). Directory of independent living centers and related organizations, Vol. 18, January, 1996. (Available from ILRU, The Institute for Rehabilitation Research, 2323 South Shepherd Blvd., Suite 1000, Houston, TX 77019)
Kaye, H.S., LaPlante, M.P., Carlson, D., & Wenger, B.L. (1997). Trends in disability rates in the United States, 1970-1994. Disability Statistics Abstract Series, #17. (Available from the Disability Statistics Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, Institute for Health & Aging, University of California, Box 0646, San Francisco, CA 94143-0646)
LaPlante, M.P. (1992). How many Americans have a disability? Disability Statistics Abstract Series, #5. (Available from the Disability Statistics Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, Institute for Health & Aging, University of California, Box 0646, San Francisco, CA 94143-0646)
Leung, P. (1992). Translation of knowledge into practice. In Walcott & Associates, NIDRR National CRP Panel Final Report. Washington, D.C.: Walcott & Associates.
Newman, S.S., & Vash, C.L. (1994). Utilization of rehabilitation research results. Rehabilitation Education, 8(4), 380-385. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). (1995). Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research. Proposal developed in response to CFDA 84.133D, submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. Austin, TX: Author.
U.S. Census Bureau. (1997). Current U.S. population count. Available: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
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