Assessment for ACM Digital Library by Fanshawe - Module 4: Content

Submitted by c_forsythe2116… on
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: I checked a variety of PDFs from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s, and all were extractable and searchable. Presumably, the 1950s and 2000s articles are scans.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes:
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are alternative descriptions provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Of the articles I audited (ranging from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s), only one received a passing grade for alternative text.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Of the articles I audited (ranging from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s), only one received a passing grade for primary language.
Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Of the articles I audited (ranging from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s), several received passing grades for character encoding.
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The latest article is appropriately tagged, but even an article published in 2020 did not have adequate tagged elements.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The latest article is appropriately tagged, but even an article published in 2020 did not have adequate tagged list and table elements.
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The Read Out Loud function reads through the PDF fairly well; however, instead of reading through the full article, the function reads through the reference for the article before continuing to read the article. When using the Read Out Loud Function on the 1950s article, the whole first page was empty, but Read Out Loud could read the article starting on the second page. The 2000s and 2020s articles both functioned well enough.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: Did not run into situations where there may have been blank spaces.
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: None of the articles I tested contained alt text for informative images.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: From the sample of articles I tested, no suitable alternative text could be found.
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: For the most part, the Read Out Loud function read tables row by row, though it had issues with the 1950s article. Another table in the 2000s article was not formatted correctly as a table and could not be read.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The user can use their keyboard to navigate through table headers; however, some articles are scanned and tend to run into issues.
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Of the articles I checked, only one had any bookmarks at all, and this was for the references list.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: On the single article I found with bookmarks, the bookmark does link to the references list of the article.
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
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?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
eResource: ACM Digital Library
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: ACM
Institution: Fanshawe
Score: C

Key Findings

Weaknesses

  • PDFs are searchable but not tagged

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never I checked a variety of PDFs from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s, and all were extractable and searchable. Presumably, the 1950s and 2000s articles are scans.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Never
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Sometimes Of the articles I audited (ranging from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s), only one received a passing grade for alternative text.
Is primary language specified? Sometimes Of the articles I audited (ranging from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s), only one received a passing grade for primary language.
Is reliable character encoding provided? Sometimes Of the articles I audited (ranging from the 1950s, 2000s, and 2020s), several received passing grades for character encoding.
Are all page elements tagged? Sometimes The latest article is appropriately tagged, but even an article published in 2020 did not have adequate tagged elements.
Are list and table structure correct? Sometimes The latest article is appropriately tagged, but even an article published in 2020 did not have adequate tagged list and table elements.

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 The Read Out Loud function reads through the PDF fairly well; however, instead of reading through the full article, the function reads through the reference for the article before continuing to read the article. When using the Read Out Loud Function on the 1950s article, the whole first page was empty, but Read Out Loud could read the article starting on the second page. The 2000s and 2020s articles both functioned well enough.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Not Applicable Did not run into situations where there may have been blank spaces.
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? Always

Images

Positioning of Images

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

Alternative Description

Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never None of the articles I tested contained alt text for informative images.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Not Applicable
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never From the sample of articles I tested, no suitable alternative text could be found.

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Sometimes For the most part, the Read Out Loud function read tables row by row, though it had issues with the 1950s article. Another table in the 2000s article was not formatted correctly as a table and could not be read.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Sometimes The user can use their keyboard to navigate through table headers; however, some articles are scanned and tend to run into issues.

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Sometimes Of the articles I checked, only one had any bookmarks at all, and this was for the references list.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Always On the single article I found with bookmarks, the bookmark does link to the references list of the article.

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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