AI 中文总结
该研究针对盲人和低视力研究者无法访问定性数据可视化的问题，提出基于网络的QUARTZ系统，通过用户研究揭示相关障碍并提出设计准则，以提升该群体参与定性研究的可访问性。
AI 中文摘要
定性数据可视化——概念图、网络图、桑基图及编码条纹——是研究实践的重要组成部分，但完全无法被盲人和低视力（BLV）研究者访问。尽管可视化领域针对定量图表已开发出先进的多模态解决方案，定性可视化及其非线性、语义丰富的结构却未受到关注。我们提出QUARTZ，这是一个基于网络的系统，可提供定性数据可视化的屏幕阅读器可访问多模态表示。采用快速迭代测试与评估（RITE）方法，我们开展了包含8名BLV参与者的用户研究，这些参与者完成了四种可视化类型的12项任务。我们的研究结果揭示了定性可视化特有的可访问性障碍——定量图表研究中不存在的非线性导航故障与语义理解差距，并记录了与BLV用户进行的迭代协同设计如何解决这些障碍。我们为这一未被充分探索的可视化领域贡献了实证证据与设计准则，推进了BLV研究者独立参与定性研究所需的基础设施。
英文摘要
Qualitative data visualizations -- concept maps, network graphs, Sankey diagrams, and coding stripes -- are integral to research practice, yet remain entirely inaccessible to blind and low-vision (BLV) researchers. While visualization has seen advanced multimodal solutions for quantitative charts, qualitative visualizations, and their non-linear, semantically rich structures have received no attention. We present QUARTZ, a web-based system that provides screen-reader-accessible, multimodal representations of qualitative data visualizations. Using the Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) method, we conducted a user study with 8 BLV participants who completed 12 tasks across four visualization types. Our findings expose accessibility barriers unique to qualitative visualizations -- non-linear navigation breakdowns and semantic comprehension gaps absent from quantitative chart research---and document how iterative co-design with BLV users resolved them. We contribute empirical evidence and design guidelines for an underexplored visualization domain, advancing the infrastructure BLV researchers need to participate independently in qualitative inquiry.
Comments24 pages, accepted at ASSETS 2026
