Introduction
It is necessary to understand existing resources, models and methods currently used in design practice when designing for children to develop a useful design aid or tool. Under these premises, this thesis aims to propose a deeper understanding of the practice of risk-communication design with children and suggest critical factors to refer to when preparing for it. This chapter addresses RQ1, which was presented in Section 1.3:
• RQ1. What models, methods and resources are available in theories and practices to support designers when designing for young children aged 5–11 years?
Sub-questions of RQ1 are covered in this chapter:
• RQ. What are the gaps between theories and practices and how can the gaps be
narrowed?
• RQ. What is the set of requirements for a new toolkit (resource review
consolidation)?
The question refers to specific design methods for children both published in the resources and applied in practice. The question also refers to the various kinds of information and resources available in academia and in practice. In particular, this chapter aims to answer the following research questions resulting from the review of the literature:
• What types of standards and other design guidance resources are currently
available for designers to support them in designing for young children?
• What types of information is the researcher able to source from academics and
practitioners?
Findings from the literature revealed a gap in developing communications aimed at children aged 5–11 years. The human-factors models presented in the literature review, including the model developed by McLaughlin and Mayhorn (2014) as shown in Figure 2.8, have generally not considered young children in the process. Areas to be explored in relation to young children in developing risk communication include, for example,
76 developmental stages, capabilities and limitations. Outcomes also emerged from the prior research that point towards the need for behavioural testing (Waterson & Monk, 2014). Furthermore, based on previous work, a framework has been developed and presented at the end of Chapter 2, as shown in Figure 2.14, for the design of risk communication aimed at young children. Chapter 3 discussed the range of methods to be employed in the research.
4.1.1 Overview
Interventions to prevent accident occurrence are essential in keeping young children safer from the potential risks of unintentional injury. This chapter presents a critical review of the currently available resources and models to better understand existing processes, procedures and guidelines in and between disciplines, with the goal of identifying potential areas for enhancement of guidance relevant to those involved in design for children. The study documented in this chapter differs from a standard literature review, as the primary purpose of conducting the critical review of the resources was to explore the resources that are currently available to designers and other groups that are relevant to understanding risks and developing risk information aimed at young children. This can be described as empirical research, as the researcher was gathering and collating evidence from empirical research of other people and found materials to evaluate evidence from real-world sources. Knowledge regarding cognitive skills, capabilities and limitations in the reviewed resources that relate to the interaction of children are to be integrated into the framework, including aspects of developmental psychology, i.e. cognitive development for the 5–11-year age group. This knowledge may be relevant when designing risk communications as well as in a broader context to provide general tools on aspects of children that may be applicable in providing further support for other products and services.
4.1.2 Study design and rational
As discussed, current human-factors methods, resources, guidelines and standards that apply to design for children are presented in this resource review. The findings are integrated into the developing model to fill gaps in knowledge. The first version of this model was developed by the researcher, and presented in Chapter 2, using the information from the models and frameworks gathered from the background literature.
77 It is proposed that all the relevant information be drawn from this resource review and that guidelines be organised into a flexible framework, which maintains the relationship between these guidelines and the underlying theory regarding system interaction. In this way, it is much clearer which existing guidelines can be used, where they need to be made more specific for this type of product and user group and where possible gaps exist. For designers, this method also provides an easy overview of all guidelines. The unifying framework that has been proposed is based upon McLaughlin's model of risk communication, which is primarily aimed at older adults. The model is used for the evaluation of risk communication for adults but will be used in a novel way to help design and evaluate risk communication for children and structure the design guidelines. The study seeks to examine the range of available materials or tools, their content and where a designer can access the information. The study outcomes are added to the developing evidence base by collating available information on caregiver interaction, e.g. the level of supervision expected during certain development stages and information on the capabilities and limitations of children. The results of this study help to highlight the importance of continued development of resources, fill the gaps in the research and educate design practitioners and other groups involved on aspects relevant to developing appropriate communications.
Further support is needed to understand in what stages guidelines are applicable or how guidelines can be refined to meet user task requirements for a specific set of users and a specific type of application. Methods: Resources and reports recommended by experts were found through initial email contact with experts, who then provided various guidelines and reports to the researcher.
4.1.3 Research method
It was decided that document analysis and collation of available information sources were appropriate means to gather the requirements for designers and aid in further development of the risk management model and guidelines. The study seeks to examine the range of available design aids or tools, the content of them and where a designer can access the information.
1. First, this study includes documentary analysis of found resources and those recommended by experts along with those used by designers in practice. Resources and reports were both recommended by experts, and online searches were carried out by the researcher.
78 2. Second, this study includes a collation of existing information for safety guidelines for design and evaluation from found sources (Waterson & Monk, 2014; Waterson et al., 2012; CEN/CENELEC Guide 14, 2009) in to the framework to further develop an evidence base.
The resource review aims to follow a strategy of comprehensive sampling, as there are a limited number of respected sets of guidelines for the design of risk communication and few explicitly aimed at risk communications for children. External experts in the field of child safety were identified through the CAPT’s network of contacts, and this provided a framework from which to base the rationale for stakeholder recruitment.
In this chapter, relevant information from resources and models provided by experts and found by the researcher have been integrated. The guidelines produced from Waterson and Monk (2014) and Waterson et al. (2012) have been used as a reference and implemented into the framework at the design and evaluation stages.
4.1.3.1 Inclusion criteria
Examples of design resources and standards specific for young children have been reviewed. Academic texts written by leaders in the field of human factors and other sources relevant to designing for children, including design tools such as grey literature, are gathered and used as the guide in identifying the resources, models or guidelines incorporated in this study. As with the theories of cognitive development, the study is restricted to prominent and respected work in the field of human factors that are referred to often in both theory and practice and is currently regarded as important to designers, credible and influential. To determine whether an adequate quantity of material had been covered, the researcher observed when no new categories or themes emerged, when the relationships between existing themes were clear and when the theoretical discussion was complete. Sources include safety guidelines for design and evaluation (Waterson & Monk, 2013; Waterson et al., 2012), information from the CAPT, anthropometric data (Norris, 1998) and other sources, which are all discussed within the chapter. Information from studies on the design of risk communication for vulnerable groups is also provided (McLaughlin and Mayhorn, 2014).
79
4.1.3.2 Exclusion criteria
The critical analysis of the resources and models in this chapter explicitly reviews the development and behavioural characteristics of young children aged 5–11 years, e.g. physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations on designing for young children's safety. The study has generated further data that describe the population of children likely to be in contact with the risk communication, as the abilities and skills of children quickly change as children develop and are different from adults.
4.1.4 Individual factors in relation to the design of warnings
for children
Most of the guidelines do not consider users' psychological characteristics, such as their previous experience with a product, expectations, perception of risk and attitude. One exception is the McLaughlin and Mayhorn model (2014), which studies these attributes and their relevance to older adults. The adapted McLaughlin and Mayhorn model (2104) looks towards better consideration of children’s psychological characteristics, their previous experience with a product, expectations, perception of risk and attitude. Individual factors regarding the design of warnings for children were recognised as being relevant to the design of warnings for adults and other groups. This section aims to review what information is available on the individual factors that may affect children's interaction with a warning or risk communication. Guidelines on individual factors (receiver or audience analysis) from Waterson and Monk (2014) in the context of risk communication aimed at young children may be useful for design practitioners in developing risk communication and are outlined in Table 4-1 below. The wider set of guidelines are included in Appendix A.
Table 4-1 Example section of design guidelines. From: Waterson & Monk (2014).
Target audience Definition
Age What age range does target audience fall into? What are their reading levels (very young children (< 7 years) will have low levels of reading comprehension)?
80
Cultural, national factors Cultural and national factors may impact the comprehension of signs, e.g. interpretation of characters and symbols; language comprehension (English as a second language).
Special needs and disabilities Some children may have learnt disabilities; a significant proportion of children are colour blind.
Gender What is the gender mix of the target group? Gender may influence the degree to which characters, colour and symbols are interpreted and comprehended.
The models discussed within the literature review, including the C-HIP model (Wogalter et al., 1999) have not been primarily developed to facilitate design practitioners in developing warnings or risk communication for children. For example, the models have not considered children's attitudes, behaviour and other needs, such as the concept of adult-child interaction. Findings from Waterson and Monk (2014) presented in the literature review indicated that children are unlikely to be able to interpret visual information on their own, since in this age range, they are more likely to be accompanied by an adult (Waterson & Monk, 2014). The content of the guidelines produced previously from Waterson and Monk (2014) and the model from McLaughlin and Mayhorn (2014) can be further adapted to include guidelines that consider young children's specific needs.