Assessment for ScienceDirect by Boréal - Module 4: Content

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Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes: All tested PDFs were selectable and copyable. Text could be searched and extracted, confirming that none of the files were image-only scans.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: All PDFs allowed text selection and copying. No DRM restrictions or locking was encountered in the sample set.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All PDFs supported full text search via Ctrl + F. Text was selectable and screen reader accessible.
Are alternative descriptions provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Alternative text was found for all meaningful images, tables, and figures. Decorative images were properly marked with null alt text.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: The primary language (English) was set in the document properties of each PDF tested.
Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Accessibility check confirmed proper character encoding. Text extracted clearly and predictably.
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Sections, paragraphs, headings, and tables were appropriately tagged, allowing screen readers to parse structure correctly.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Lists and tables passed accessibility checks, with correct nesting and tagging.
Does the Read Out Loud function read the PDF in a logical way, preserving the order of the text and various sections?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Read Out Loud read all sections in appropriate reading order. Headings and paragraphs followed a top-down, left-right flow.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: No repeated “blank” interruptions. Layout was clean and structured with minimal visual noise.
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Keyboard shortcuts (Shift+Ctrl+B/C/E) and arrow key navigation worked as expected across all tested pages.
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: No pixelation or distortion when zoomed in. Text and graphics remained sharp and legible.
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All images were placed logically within the layout and aligned with the associated text. No images were hidden in awkward positions.
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Informative images had short but effective descriptions conveying their visual message.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Logos and title images included descriptive alt text that matched the visible text.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Complex graphics (e.g., charts) were described in detail within the document or had links to textual equivalents.
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Tables included proper tags, logical reading order, and summary text where needed.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Table headers were correctly identified using <th> tags and announced by screen readers.
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Each PDF included bookmarks for major headings and sections, accessible through the sidebar.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Clicking bookmarks reliably brought the user to the correct section every time.
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: All sampled videos included closed captions.


If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Closed captions were accessible via clearly marked buttons within the video player interface.
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Captions were accurate, grammatically correct, and well-timed
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Captions appeared at the bottom of the screen without obscuring faces, labels, or visual cues.
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Captions matched spoken content precisely and were synchronized.
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: A downloadable transcript was available for each captioned video.
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: All videos were captioned. No caption-free videos were found in the resource.
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: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Descriptive video options or written text alternatives were included for all videos sampled.
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Narration and transcripts accurately conveyed visual content, including relevant sounds, gestures, and visual cues.
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Each audio file had a clearly labeled transcript link below or beside the audio player.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Transcripts accurately reflected the spoken audio and included sound indicators when relevant.
eResource: ScienceDirect
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: Elsevier
Institution: Boréal
Score: A+

Key Findings

Strengths

  • Audio has transcripts
  • PDFs are searchable and tagged
  • Videos have captions and audio descriptions/transcripts

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never All tested PDFs were selectable and copyable. Text could be searched and extracted, confirming that none of the files were image-only scans.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Not Applicable All PDFs allowed text selection and copying. No DRM restrictions or locking was encountered in the sample set.
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always All PDFs supported full text search via Ctrl + F. Text was selectable and screen reader accessible.

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Always Alternative text was found for all meaningful images, tables, and figures. Decorative images were properly marked with null alt text.
Is primary language specified? Always The primary language (English) was set in the document properties of each PDF tested.
Is reliable character encoding provided? Always Accessibility check confirmed proper character encoding. Text extracted clearly and predictably.
Are all page elements tagged? Always Sections, paragraphs, headings, and tables were appropriately tagged, allowing screen readers to parse structure correctly.
Are list and table structure correct? Always Lists and tables passed accessibility checks, with correct nesting and tagging.

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? Always Read Out Loud read all sections in appropriate reading order. Headings and paragraphs followed a top-down, left-right flow.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Always No repeated “blank” interruptions. Layout was clean and structured with minimal visual noise.
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Always Keyboard shortcuts (Shift+Ctrl+B/C/E) and arrow key navigation worked as expected across all tested pages.

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 No pixelation or distortion when zoomed in. Text and graphics remained sharp and legible.

Images

Positioning of Images

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find? Always All images were placed logically within the layout and aligned with the associated text. No images were hidden in awkward positions.

Alternative Description

Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always Informative images had short but effective descriptions conveying their visual message.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always Logos and title images included descriptive alt text that matched the visible text.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Always Complex graphics (e.g., charts) were described in detail within the document or had links to textual equivalents.

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Always Tables included proper tags, logical reading order, and summary text where needed.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Always Table headers were correctly identified using <th> tags and announced by screen readers.

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Always Each PDF included bookmarks for major headings and sections, accessible through the sidebar.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Always Clicking bookmarks reliably brought the user to the correct section every time.

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Always All sampled videos included closed captions.
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Always Closed captions were accessible via clearly marked buttons within the video player interface.
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Always Captions were accurate, grammatically correct, and well-timed
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Always Captions appeared at the bottom of the screen without obscuring faces, labels, or visual cues.
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Always Captions matched spoken content precisely and were synchronized.
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Always A downloadable transcript was available for each captioned video.
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Not Applicable All videos were captioned. No caption-free videos were found in the resource.

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? Always Descriptive video options or written text alternatives were included for all videos sampled.
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Always Narration and transcripts accurately conveyed visual content, including relevant sounds, gestures, and visual cues.

Audio Accessibility

Question Answer Notes Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip? Always Each audio file had a clearly labeled transcript link below or beside the audio player.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Always Transcripts accurately reflected the spoken audio and included sound indicators when relevant.
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