Control and description of visual function in research on aphasia and related disorders Brooke Hallowell Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA Natalie Douglas Munroe Regional Medical Center, Ocala, FL, USA Robert T. Wertz Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and Vanderbilt University VA Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA Sunny Kim Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA Background: Most experimental and assessment tasks in studies of neurogenic language disorders rely on visual information processing. Failure to describe and/or control for visual function may lead to invalid data collection and interpretation. Aims: An empirical study was initiated to describe current practice and needs for improvement in the description of and control for visual acuity, colour perception, visual fields, visual attention, and oculomotor functions. Methods & Procedures: Data were collected from all articles (N = 668) on aphasia (sub- sequent to left hemisphere damage) and related language disorders (subsequent to TBI and right hemisphere damage) in adults published during a 10-year period in each of 17 journals. Outcomes & Results: Few authors control for or describe even basic aspects of vision. Conclusions: Specific needs and strategies for improvement are discussed. The need for improved continuing education concerning means of screening for various forms of visual function is highlighted. Researchers are encouraged to employ basic screenings corre- sponding to the visual functions implemented in their assessment and experimental tasks for a given study. Improved feedback to manuscript authors and those seeking grant funding regarding appropriate control for and description of visual function is advocated. In a classic article in the aphasia literature, Brookshire (1983) describes the need for careful description and experimental control of numerous subject characteristics that may influence the results of research on persons with neurogenic language disorders: ``Investigators who carry out experiments involving aphasic subjects should provide # 2004 Psychology Press Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pp/02687038.html DOI: 10.1080/02687030444000084 Address correspondence to: Brooke Hallowell, School of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences, Ohio University, W231 Grover Center, Athens, OH 45701, USA. Email: hallowel@ohiou.edu This work was supported in part by grant number DC00153-01A1 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The authors wish to thank Sojung Kim, Amy Reid, Leetal Cuperman, Lollie Vaughan, Stacey Commerford, Angie Evans, and Christine Jackson for assistance with data collection, and Dr Sherry Crawford for consultation and training on visual assessment and screening issues and methods. APHASIOLOGY, 2004, 18 (5/6/7), 611±623