Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
ABI/INFORM Global	ProQuest	C

Key Findings

Strengths

All text and images meet contrast requirements
All images contain a textual alternative
Information is not distorted when zoomed in at 200%
Information is preserved at different screen resolutions

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Always

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Never

Presence of Icons

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there icons where appropriate, such as icons to indicate PDF Full Text, Download, Folder, Citation, etc?	Always

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	The most prominent image/icon - the search button - does not contain alternative text or wording to describe its function.
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always

Content Scaling

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?	Always
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?	Always
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Always

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Not Applicable
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?	Always
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?	Sometimes	Search button in main search bar does not contain alternative text or wording. It is simply an image of a magnifying glass.

Text to speech

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options?	Never

Clustered Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Using your mouse, is the clickable area around links and buttons large enough for users to see and activate easily?	Sometimes	Some buttons (like the cite, email, and save features listed beside each article) are quite small and users with visual impairments may have some difficulty separating them.
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?	Sometimes	Some buttons (like the cite, email, and save features listed beside each article) are quite close together and users with dexterity challenges may have some difficulty separating them.
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?	Always
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?	Always

Dynamic content

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can users pause carousel movement?	Not Applicable
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Not Applicable

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Always
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Always
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always

Key Findings

Strengths

The platform’s layout and navigation is consistent across all pages

Weaknesses

Some user input fields contain labels and clear instructions to help users successfully complete the form
Page content sometimes has appropriate headers and is tagged appropriately

Labels and Instructions for Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields accompanied by clear instructions on what the user needs to do to successfully complete the form?	Never	The search bar includes only placeholder text that disappears when the user begins typing their search query. Advanced search bars are empty.
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above?	Always	WAVE is identifying ARIA labels throughout.
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand?	Not Applicable
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field?	Never	Labels are only available in the advanced search feature and they are placed to the left of the user input fields.
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available?	Sometimes	These features do appear in the "Create an Account" feature (which most students are likely not accessing) but they do not appear in the search fields.
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields?	Sometimes	These features do appear in the "Create an Account" feature (which most students are likely not accessing) but they do not appear in the search fields.

Error Prevention

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable.	Always	Users are able to reverse/modify their search terms without losing the original keywords. The searches are not checked or confirmed before submission.

Error Reports

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alert messages clearly visible to the user, either at the top of the form field, inline, or through a dialog box?	Always	The "Create an Account" feature does have a clear error message box at the top of the page.
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Always
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Always
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Always
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Never	The details in the error report/message do not follow the same reading order as the form.

Search function spell-check

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When a user spells a word incorrectly, does the search function offer spelling suggestions or synonyms?	Always	Spelling suggestions are included on the results page with a "Did You Mean..." feature.

Functionality of Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are icons such as to save, download, or print consistent across the site?	Always
Is alternative text clear and consistent for each icon type?	Always
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”.	Always
Are icons that have adjacent links consistent?	Not Applicable
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text alone?	Always

Consistent Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the eresource have a consistent layout and navigation across all pages?	Always
Are search fields located in the same places throughout the website?	Always
Do other features occur in the same place throughout the website?	Always
Are links, buttons, images, and other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website labeled consistently?	Always

Pop-up windows/Interruptions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the electronic resource avoid the use of pop-up windows which open automatically in a new tab if a user clicks on a button?	Sometimes	If students want to export the selected article(s), they may be redirected to a pop-up window that will require them to login to their Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive accounts, for example.
Does the database avoid launching pop-up windows automatically when the database is loaded?	Always
Where pop-ups occur, are users able to postpone or suppress any pop-ups?	Never
Does the database avoid launching pages in a new browser window with the usual browser controls missing?	Never	For the pop-up windows that do occur, they do not include regular browser features like back or forward buttons, refresh, etc.

Headers

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is page content subdivided hierarchically into appropriate headings and tagged appropriately?	Sometimes
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading?	Sometimes	Some menus contain clear headings and the content within them is easily identifiable. However, icons are also classified as headings, with sub-headings, which might not be assumed by the user (e.g. the "Cite" button contains headings and sub-headings which may not be apparent at first glance).

Menus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do database page menus have a reasonable number of navigation items and drop-down options?	Always
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items?	Always
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation?	Always

Change of context

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the “results” page or item record view avoid opening in a new tab without a warning?	Always
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content?	Never	Filters automatically update the search results.
Does the database avoid automatic redirection?	Never

Change of Context: Focus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the form refrain from submitting automatically when a component receives focus?	Always
Does the database avoid launching new windows when a component receives focus?	Always
Does the database avoid change of focus when a component receives focus?	Always
Are you able to tab through a page using keyboard navigation without the keyboard focus moving away from the control?	Always

Key Findings

Strengths

All interactive functionality works consistently for users who are navigating a site via keyboard
Screen readers accurately capture information presented in tables

Navigation Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can the purpose of each link can be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context?	Sometimes	Most links are text-based links and the purpose is easily identified. However, the search bar icon does not have a label or link text.

Keyboard Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?	Always
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?	Not Applicable
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?	Always
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?	Always
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?	Always
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?	Always

Skip Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?	Not Applicable
Are skip links visible or invisible?	Not Applicable
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?	Not Applicable
Are skip links labelled properly?	Not Applicable
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?	Not Applicable
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?	Not Applicable
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?	Not Applicable

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?	Always

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Always
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?	Sometimes	The filters menu is not clearly labelled as such, though the options help provide the context.
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?	Always

Key Findings

Strengths

PDFs are searchable and tagged

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?	Never
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Sometimes	Older PDF files are locked (article sampled was from 1997).
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Sometimes	Older PDF files are image-only (article sampled was from 1997).

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Never
Is primary language specified?	Sometimes
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Sometimes
Are all page elements tagged?	Never
Are list and table structure correct?	Never

Structure: Reading Order

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections?	Sometimes	Newer PDFs are read mostly logically, though older image-only documents are not. Newer PDFs did have some problematic elements like reading vertically and skipping important information like titles until later on.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?	Sometimes	In one newer PDF (2019), the text is read with significant pauses between each individual word.
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?	Always

Magnification

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?	Sometimes	The images do get slightly distorted and blurred, though not totally illegible.

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Sometimes	Some logos (Springer articles) are placed in the bottom corners of the articles.

Alternative Description

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?	Never	Tables are read row by row, but are not able to be tabbed.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?	Always

Additional Navigational Aids

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?	Sometimes
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Always

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Not Applicable
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?	Not Applicable
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?	Not Applicable
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?	Not Applicable
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?	Not Applicable
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable

Described Video

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do videos include described video, or if not, is there a text equivalent of the video provided on the same page or via a link?	Not Applicable
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?	Not Applicable

Audio Accessibility

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?	Not Applicable
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?	Not Applicable

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