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16.4 Logistics 517

WHEN USERS GET FRUSTRATED
What happens if a user with a disability is taking part in a study, is not
successful at completing any of the tasks, and is getting frustrated? This person
is getting agitated, is still trying to complete the tasks, but clearly is not making
any progress. What happens next? This is a realistic question. For the researcher
who is observing this participant, it is an upsetting time. Although our research
studies in HCI typically do not endanger health or leave lasting emotional
effects, it is certainly possible that a situation of this nature could occur which
could leave the user angry and upset. Apart from a few rare studies designed
to frustrate people on purpose, such as (Riseberg et al., 1998), HCI research is
generally not designed to aggravate the users who take part.
There are a few options. The researcher can remind the participant that they
have the right to end their participation in the experiment, at any time, with no
adverse consequences (which is typically a standard requirement in IRB forms).
As part of this reminder, the researcher should note that whatever payment is
due for participation will be given to the individual, regardless of when they end
their participation. But if the participant does not want to end the session, what
happens next? Perhaps the participant can be offered a short break or a period of
rest, which would allow him or her a few minutes to calm down. The researcher
technically has the right to end the experiment if they feel that someone is
beginning to be harmed. However, for the researcher to unilaterally end the
participation of the participant also sets some bad precedents. If researchers
frequently end user participation, there could be some bias injected into the
research study. This is a tricky situation. Especially when working with users
with disabilities, who are often hard to recruit and replace.

16.4.7 PAYMENT

When paying participants for taking part in research, it is important to make sure that
the form of payment will be useful to the participants. For instance, gift cards for a
specific store (such as a local bookstore) may not be useful for some participants if
they cannot use standard print materials. Also, gift cards that only work at a certain
store may not be useful, if transportation is required to visit the store and use the gift
cards. Gifts that are typically used to recruit university students for research, such as
iPods, may also not be appropriate, as many users with disabilities have very specific
technical needs and may not want to use new devices. The best forms of payment are
either cash or cash equivalents, such as cash cards. If those are not viable options,
then at least a gift card should be given at a store that has online ordering options
and an accessible website (such as Amazon) or that has many local branches and
many types of merchandise. It is also important to note that users with disabilities
are typically paid more than users without disabilities for their participation in HCI
research. One mistake of novice researchers is that they often assume that people