Assessment for ASTM by Durham - Module 4: Content

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Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: Five PDFs were checked, with publication dates of 2010, 2016, 2022 and 2024 (both a research report and a standard from this year). All were searchable and extractable.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: All 5 PDFs checked were searchable and extractable.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All 5 PDFs checked were fully searchable.
Are alternative descriptions provided?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Four of the five PDFs checked indicated as 'Failed' for figures, nested, associated with content, hides annotation and other elements. One of the five PDFs 'passed' on all but 'other elements'.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: All five PDFs checked 'Failed'.
Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: All five PDFs 'Failed'.
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: All five PDFs 'Failed'.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Four of the five PDFs 'Failed'. One of the five PDFs checked passed both lists and tables.
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: Of the five PDFs checked, four were fine. One of them was read out as 'warning, empty page' for each page (2010 research report - other items were standards).
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Of the five PDFs checked, four were fine. One of them was read as 'warning, empty page' for each page (2010 research report - other items were standards).
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Of the five PDFs checked, four were fine. One of them was read as 'warning, empty page' for each page (2010 research report - other items were standards).
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: No alt text present
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: No alt text present
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: No alt text present
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Of the five PDFs checked, only one had a table. Unable to read document.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Of the five PDFs checked, only one had a table. Unable to read document.
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes:
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: No bookmarks
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: No videos
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: no videos
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no videos
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no videos
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no videos
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no videos
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no videos
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: no videos
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: no videos
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no audio files
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: no audio files
eResource: ASTM
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: ASTM International
Institution: Durham
Score: F

Key Findings

Weaknesses

  • PDFs are searchable but not tagged

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never Five PDFs were checked, with publication dates of 2010, 2016, 2022 and 2024 (both a research report and a standard from this year). All were searchable and extractable.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Never All 5 PDFs checked were searchable and extractable.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always All 5 PDFs checked were fully searchable.

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Never Four of the five PDFs checked indicated as 'Failed' for figures, nested, associated with content, hides annotation and other elements. One of the five PDFs 'passed' on all but 'other elements'.
Is primary language specified? Never All five PDFs checked 'Failed'.
Is reliable character encoding provided? Never All five PDFs 'Failed'.
Are all page elements tagged? Never All five PDFs 'Failed'.
Are list and table structure correct? Never Four of the five PDFs 'Failed'. One of the five PDFs checked passed both lists and tables.

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 Of the five PDFs checked, four were fine. One of them was read out as 'warning, empty page' for each page (2010 research report - other items were standards).
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Sometimes Of the five PDFs checked, four were fine. One of them was read as 'warning, empty page' for each page (2010 research report - other items were standards).
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Sometimes Of the five PDFs checked, four were fine. One of them was read as 'warning, empty page' for each page (2010 research report - other items were standards).

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 No alt text present
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never No alt text present
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never No alt text present

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Never Of the five PDFs checked, only one had a table. Unable to read document.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Never Of the five PDFs checked, only one had a table. Unable to read document.

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Never
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Not Applicable No bookmarks

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Not Applicable No videos
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Not Applicable no videos
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Not Applicable no videos
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Not Applicable no videos
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Not Applicable no videos
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Not Applicable no videos
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Not Applicable no videos

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 no videos
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Not Applicable no videos

Audio Accessibility

Question Answer Notes Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip? Not Applicable no audio files
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Not Applicable no audio files
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