Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) FAQ

Introduction

This page lists frequently asked questions (FAQ) for the Research and Development Working Group (RDWG). It does not replace the W3C Process, which governs the work of all W3C Working Groups. Contact Shadi Abou-Zahra (shadi@w3.org) if you have further questions.

What is the Research and Development Working Group (RDWG)?

Research and Development Working Group (RDWG) is a working group of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), to increase the incorporation of accessibility considerations into research on web technologies, and to identify projects researching web accessibility and suggest research questions that may contribute to new projects. More information is available in:

What is the RDWG Catalog of Research Topics?

RDWG maintains an annotated catalog of research topics related to web accessibility. The catalog includes a combination of research topics with short-, medium-, and long-term perspectives to help advance accessibility for people with disabilities. Potential topics include but are not limited to:

cognitive disabilities
virtual reality on the Web
social networking
online education
digital broadcasting
telemedicine
mobile Web
augmented reality
digital rights management
web accessibility in less developed regions
internationalization

This catalog is collaboratively maintained using the publicly available RDWG wiki. Write access to this wiki is currently limited to RDWG participants but comments, suggestions, and feedback is welcome from anyone; please write to public-wai-rd@w3.org (a publicly archived mailing list).

What are RDWG Teleconference Seminars?

RDWG teleconference seminars bring together people interested in a particular aspect of web accessibility to advance research in that area. For example, a seminar might discuss current research, synthesize ideas, and provide a roadmap for future work on a specific topic. RDWG selects these topics for exploration from the RDWG catalog of research topics based on:

Relative impact on people with disabilities;
Relative impact on advancing web accessibility;
Currency of the topic and impact on on-going work;
Readiness of RDWG for leading the particular topic.

RDWG plans to hold 3-4 teleconference seminars per year. These seminars are free of cost and anyone may submit to participate. Generally participants will be invited based on peer-review of their paper submission. The proceedings and any consolidated findings from the seminars will be publicly available.

Each RDWG teleconference seminar will include a planning committee (of usually 1-3 people) from the Working Group, and a scientific committee which may include external volunteers who have expertise in the particular topic for exploration. RDWG Work Plan provides further information about the timelines and organization of RDWG teleconference seminars.

What are RDWG Publications?

RDWG primarily produces two types of publications:

Seminar Proceedings
Consolidated Findings

Seminar Proceedings

RDWG produces at least proceedings for each teleconference seminar held. These proceedings include:

Teleconference report - brief synopsis of discussion with links to the material generated for the seminar such as a reading list, key research projects for the topic, and teleconference minutes;
Teleconference minutes - notes of the discussion taken during the teleconference seminar, including any audio and text transcripts;
Papers and presentations - peer-reviewed papers that were accepted as contributions, and, if applicable, the corresponding presentations used during the teleconference seminar;
Notes and materials - any other notes and supporting materials generated or used during the teleconference seminar.

RDWG teleconference seminar proceedings are available from the RDWG home page.

Consolidated Findings

RDWG plans to develop consolidated findings from RDWG teleconference seminars in form of W3C Working Group (WG) Notes (type of W3C Techical Reports). These WG Notes will provide more in-depth description of the research topic and questions, references to relevant related work, conclusions drawn from the teleconference seminar and any follow-up discussions, as well as recommendations for further action including additional research and development activities.

What is the practice for RDWG writership and credits?

RDWG publications such as teleconference seminar proceedings, W3C Working Group (WG) Notes, and other teleconference seminar results will have the following writership:

Editors - a core group of (~1-3) people who have shepherded the development of the publication through the process and led it to completion;
Authors - anyone who has contributed written substantial content such as a section, appendix, or other supporting material that has been included in the publication;
Contributors - everyone else who has contributed, such as by taking part in the discussions, but not having written any substantial parts of the publication.

When referring to the entire publication, editors will be the only names in the editors listing (in order of contribution) of the reference, and the first names in the author list. The author list will be formed by these editors names and the rest of the authors following in alphabetical order. Finally, contributors will be listed in a section or appendix, and will be implied by 'et al' being appended to the authors list.

When referring to a formally authored section or appendix (think book chapter), the editors will be the only names in the editors listing (in order of contribution). The author list will be formed by the authors of that particular part in order of contribution. Finally, contributors will be listed in a sub-section, and will be implied by 'et al' being appended to the authors list.

What is the copyright policy for RDWG Publications?

RDWG publications such as teleconference seminar proceedings, W3C Working Group (WG) Notes, and other publications are provided under the W3C Document Licsense. Please see W3C Copyright FAQ for further information.

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