Wizard-of-Oz Study

A research method in which participants interact with a system they believe is autonomous, but which is actually being partially or fully operated by a human researcher (the "wizard") behind the scenes. In accessibility research, Wizard-of-Oz studies are used to test the potential of technologies that do not yet exist in fully functional form, such as AI-powered assistive systems. This method allows researchers to explore user needs and interaction patterns before investing in full technical implementation, though it may mask real-world limitations like latency and error rates.