Assessment for ScienceDirect by Boréal - Module 1: Interface Appearance

Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All images on the evaluated pages were prominently positioned and easy to locate. They were not hidden in corners or placed after sections in illogical locations. The image layout followed expected reading patterns (left-to-right, top-to-bottom).

Are there functional images embedded in the background?

Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: Upon testing with window resizing and font scaling, there was no misalignment between the interface content and the background images. Functional images (e.g., buttons, icons) responded correctly and maintained their alignment, indicating they are not embedded into background layers.

Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Informative images such as photos and illustrations contain relevant and concise alt text. For example, the image labeled “Telephone” correctly describes its content and role. The WAVE scan did not report missing alt text for these images.

Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All functional images like “submit,” “next,” or “download” icons have either descriptive alt text or a text label placed adjacent to them. WAVE did not detect missing alt text, and manual review confirmed appropriate descriptions are present.

Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Images used as text (such as logos or banners) contained correct alt text matching the visible message. For example, an image saying “Your access to the city” has “Your access to the city” as the alt attribute.

Are there icons where appropriate, such as icons to indicate PDF Full Text, Download, Folder, Citation, etc?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Appropriate icons are used for key actions such as downloading, accessing full text, saving, and citing documents. These icons help users navigate efficiently and enhance visual understanding of the interface.

When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: When zoomed in to 200%, the text remained legible, fully visible, and was not cut off. Content adapted properly to fit the screen without any overlapping or truncated sections. Headings, body text, and navigation menus retained clarity and proper alignment.

Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All types of images (informational, functional, and images as text) remained clear and did not become blurry or pixelated when zoomed. This ensures that users relying on browser zoom instead of external magnifiers can still view all necessary visuals with clarity.

Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The layout adjusted responsively at 200% zoom, eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. This allows users to access content easily without constantly shifting the page sideways, which is especially important for screen magnifier users or those with mobility challenges.

Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The WAVE tool reported 0 contrast errors, confirming that all regular-sized text and image text elements meet the required contrast ratio of 4.5:1 or higher, as per WCAG 2.1 guidelines. No visibility issues were identified during the manual review.

Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The resource meets WCAG minimum colour contrast requirements. All interactive elements (buttons, icons, links) remain distinguishable from their background. Text remains legible across different interface sections. There were no issues requiring remediation or adjustment.

Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The layout design includes clear visual separation between content sections, using appropriate whitespace, borders, or headings. This contributes to easier navigation and understanding for all users, including those with cognitive or visual impairments.

Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Actions that use colour (e.g., green buttons for “submit,” blue/purple links) are also supported with text or icons to ensure their function is understandable without relying solely on colour. There were no instances where meaning or functionality was lost if colour perception was removed.

Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Upon accessing an HTML full-text record within the e-resource, a “Read Aloud” or “Text-to-Speech” feature was available and clearly visible. This option enhances accessibility for users who benefit from auditory content delivery, including those with visual impairments, cognitive disabilities, or language barriers.

Using your mouse, is the clickable area around links and buttons large enough for users to see and activate easily?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All interactive elements such as links and buttons had a sufficiently large clickable area, making them easy to select with a mouse or trackpad. This supports users with motor challenges or reduced precision.

Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Buttons and links were spaced with adequate padding and margin, reducing the chance of clicking adjacent elements by mistake. This improves accessibility for users with tremors or limited fine motor control.

Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All tested links and buttons across the main search, results, item records, and support pages were fully functional. No “dead” or unresponsive links were found during the evaluation.

Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Using the Tab key, all navigational elements could be accessed and activated in logical order. The focus indicator was visible, ensuring that keyboard-only users can easily locate and activate links and controls.

Can users pause carousel movement?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The carousel on the homepage or featured content page includes visible pause/play controls that allow users to stop movement manually. This is important for users sensitive to motion or using screen readers.

Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Keyboard testing confirmed that carousel navigation (previous/next buttons) is accessible via the Tab key and can be activated using Enter or Spacebar. Focus indicators are present and movement between slides is predictable and functional.

Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Across all tested screen sizes (iPad, iPad landscape, iPhone), the text reflowed properly. Paragraphs, headings, and other elements remained in logical reading order, with no disruption or overlapping.

Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Images scaled appropriately and did not overlap with surrounding text or UI components on any tested screen size. Responsive behavior met accessibility expectations.

Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?

Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The reading experience remained smooth, coherent, and user-friendly. All essential elements remained visible and accessible. No horizontal scrolling was required on mobile-sized resolutions.

eResource: ScienceDirect

eResource Type: Database

Vendor: Elsevier

Institution: Boréal

Score: A+

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	All images on the evaluated pages were prominently positioned and easy to locate. They were not hidden in corners or placed after sections in illogical locations. The image layout followed expected reading patterns (left-to-right, top-to-bottom).

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Never	Upon testing with window resizing and font scaling, there was no misalignment between the interface content and the background images. Functional images (e.g., buttons, icons) responded correctly and maintained their alignment, indicating they are not embedded into background layers.

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	Appropriate icons are used for key actions such as downloading, accessing full text, saving, and citing documents. These icons help users navigate efficiently and enhance visual understanding of the interface.

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always	Informative images such as photos and illustrations contain relevant and concise alt text. For example, the image labeled “Telephone” correctly describes its content and role. The WAVE scan did not report missing alt text for these images.
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always	All functional images like “submit,” “next,” or “download” icons have either descriptive alt text or a text label placed adjacent to them. WAVE did not detect missing alt text, and manual review confirmed appropriate descriptions are present.
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always	Images used as text (such as logos or banners) contained correct alt text matching the visible message. For example, an image saying “Your access to the city” has “Your access to the city” as the alt attribute.

Content Scaling

Question	Answer	Notes
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?	Always	When zoomed in to 200%, the text remained legible, fully visible, and was not cut off. Content adapted properly to fit the screen without any overlapping or truncated sections. Headings, body text, and navigation menus retained clarity and proper alignment.
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?	Always	All types of images (informational, functional, and images as text) remained clear and did not become blurry or pixelated when zoomed. This ensures that users relying on browser zoom instead of external magnifiers can still view all necessary visuals with clarity.
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always	The layout adjusted responsively at 200% zoom, eliminating the need for horizontal scrolling. This allows users to access content easily without constantly shifting the page sideways, which is especially important for screen magnifier users or those with mobility challenges.

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Always	The WAVE tool reported 0 contrast errors, confirming that all regular-sized text and image text elements meet the required contrast ratio of 4.5:1 or higher, as per WCAG 2.1 guidelines. No visibility issues were identified during the manual review.

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Always	The resource meets WCAG minimum colour contrast requirements. All interactive elements (buttons, icons, links) remain distinguishable from their background. Text remains legible across different interface sections. There were no issues requiring remediation or adjustment.
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?	Always	The layout design includes clear visual separation between content sections, using appropriate whitespace, borders, or headings. This contributes to easier navigation and understanding for all users, including those with cognitive or visual impairments.
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?	Always	Actions that use colour (e.g., green buttons for “submit,” blue/purple links) are also supported with text or icons to ensure their function is understandable without relying solely on colour. There were no instances where meaning or functionality was lost if colour perception was removed.

Text to speech

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options?	Always	Upon accessing an HTML full-text record within the e-resource, a “Read Aloud” or “Text-to-Speech” feature was available and clearly visible. This option enhances accessibility for users who benefit from auditory content delivery, including those with visual impairments, cognitive disabilities, or language barriers.

Clustered Links

Question	Answer	Notes
Using your mouse, is the clickable area around links and buttons large enough for users to see and activate easily?	Always	All interactive elements such as links and buttons had a sufficiently large clickable area, making them easy to select with a mouse or trackpad. This supports users with motor challenges or reduced precision.
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?	Always	Buttons and links were spaced with adequate padding and margin, reducing the chance of clicking adjacent elements by mistake. This improves accessibility for users with tremors or limited fine motor control.
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?	Always	All tested links and buttons across the main search, results, item records, and support pages were fully functional. No “dead” or unresponsive links were found during the evaluation.
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?	Always	Using the Tab key, all navigational elements could be accessed and activated in logical order. The focus indicator was visible, ensuring that keyboard-only users can easily locate and activate links and controls.

Dynamic content

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can users pause carousel movement?	Always	The carousel on the homepage or featured content page includes visible pause/play controls that allow users to stop movement manually. This is important for users sensitive to motion or using screen readers.
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Always	Keyboard testing confirmed that carousel navigation (previous/next buttons) is accessible via the Tab key and can be activated using Enter or Spacebar. Focus indicators are present and movement between slides is predictable and functional.

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Always	Across all tested screen sizes (iPad, iPad landscape, iPhone), the text reflowed properly. Paragraphs, headings, and other elements remained in logical reading order, with no disruption or overlapping.
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Always	Images scaled appropriately and did not overlap with surrounding text or UI components on any tested screen size. Responsive behavior met accessibility expectations.
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always	The reading experience remained smooth, coherent, and user-friendly. All essential elements remained visible and accessible. No horizontal scrolling was required on mobile-sized resolutions.