# Q&A or Document-Based? The Effects of Interface Type on How Screen Reader Users Access Interconnected Documents

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.25382 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.25382/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 17 of its 124 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 Aug 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 17 of 17)

- [The Metacognitive Demands and Opportunities of Generative AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.10893/) (2023)
- [Bridging the Gulf of Envisioning: Cognitive Design Challenges in LLM Interfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14459/) (2023)
- [Don't Do RAG: When Cache-Augmented Generation is All You Need for Knowledge Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.15605/) (2024)
- [Towards End-to-End Reinforcement Learning of Dialogue Agents for Information Access](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.00777/) (2016)
- [Iris: A Conversational Agent for Complex Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.05015/) (2017)
- [The Use of Generative Search Engines for Knowledge Work and Complex Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.04268/) (2024)
- ["Before, I Asked My Mom, Now I Ask ChatGPT": Visual Privacy Management with Generative AI for Blind and Low-Vision People](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.00286/) (2025)
- [Technology Developments in Touch-Based Accessible Graphics: A Systematic Review of Research 2010-2020](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.01273/) (2021)
- [TADA: Making Node-link Diagrams Accessible to Blind and Low-Vision People](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.04502/) (2023)
- [DOBBS: Towards a Comprehensive Dataset to Study the Browsing Behavior of Online Users](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1307.1542/) (2013)
- [Comparing Conventional and Conversational Search Interaction using Implicit Evaluation Methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.09258/) (2023)
- [Using Tactile Charts to Support Comprehension and Learning of Complex Visualizations for Blind and Low-Vision Individuals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.21462/) (2025)
- [Conversations over Clicks: Impact of Chatbots on Information Search in Interdisciplinary Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.21490/) (2025)
- [Functional Flexibility in Generative AI Interfaces: Text Editing with LLMs through Conversations, Toolbars, and Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.10644/) (2024)
- [Generative AI's aggregated knowledge versus web-based curated knowledge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.12091/) (2024)
- ["If We Had the Information That We Need to Interpret the World Around Us, We Wouldn't Be Disabled:" Barriers and Opportunities in Information Work among Blind and Sighted Colleagues](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.21338/) (2026)
- [Characterization and Effects of CS2 Learning with GenAI, Visualization, and Human Support](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.02933/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Blind and low-vision (BLV) users are increasingly engaging with large language model (LLM) interfaces to access documents, but it is unclear how such systems support or hinder their ability to build interconnected knowledge. To examine this gap, we compared a Question-Answer Interface (QAI) that supports open-ended conversational inquiry, with a Document Interface (DI) based mostly on traditional structured text document navigation. We recruited 16 BLV screen reader users where they used both interfaces to explore two fictional worlds. Data from interaction logs, concept maps, decision-based tasks, and semi-structured interviews provide comparative insights into how interface design supports knowledge construction. Findings show that participants visited more distinct documents with the DI and formed larger and more correct mental models with the DI than with the QAI. They were also more able to apply knowledge they had gained. Simultaneously, many still preferred the QAI and often estimated that they had explored more, formed better mental models and applied their models better when acquiring the information with the QAI, despite this not being the case. Our analysis suggests possible interface design reasons for these differences and highlights some of the risks introduced by using question-answer interfaces to access information spaces.