Assessment for Career & Technical Education by Boréal - Module 3: Interface Structure

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Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Links such as PDF Full Text, HTML Full Text, Cite, Permalink, Save, Share, and Help clearly indicate their purpose. Link text is descriptive and understandable both independently and within surrounding context.
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Users can navigate through the interface using the Tab and arrow keys, accessing major elements such as search fields, filters, article links, and interface tools.
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Interactive components such as search filters and dropdown menus include clear instructions or behave in standard keyboard-accessible ways.
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Navigation follows a logical order consistent with visual layout:
Header → search bar → filters → search results → article tools → footer.
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: A visible focus outline highlights links, buttons, and form fields when navigating via keyboard.
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Core functions such as searching, filtering, opening records, saving results, and navigating pages work through keyboard input.
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Search forms (including Advanced Search) follow a sequential tab order across fields such as search boxes, field selectors, and limiters.
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Tested using Google Chrome. When pressing Tab at the beginning of the page, an invisible skip link becomes visible allowing users to skip directly to the main content.
Are skip links visible or invisible?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Skip links are invisible by default and become visible when keyboard focus reaches them using the Tab key.
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Skip links appear at the top of the page when tabbing begins, before major navigation elements.
Are skip links labelled properly?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Skip links use clear labels such as “Skip to main content”, indicating their purpose.
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Skip links can be accessed using the Tab key and activated with Enter, allowing users to bypass navigation elements.
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Activating the skip link moves keyboard focus directly to the main content area.
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Skip navigation controls consistently appear at the beginning of each page when accessed through keyboard navigation.
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Using Read&Write, tables were read in the correct sequence and preserved row and column relationships.
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: The database interface does not appear to use frames.
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: Frames are not used in the interface.
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: Frames were not observed during testing.
eResource: Career & Technical Education
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: ProQuest
Institution: Boréal
Score: A+

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 be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context? Always Links such as PDF Full Text, HTML Full Text, Cite, Permalink, Save, Share, and Help clearly indicate their purpose. Link text is descriptive and understandable both independently and within surrounding context.

Keyboard Navigation

Question Answer Notes Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements? Always Users can navigate through the interface using the Tab and arrow keys, accessing major elements such as search fields, filters, article links, and interface tools.
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page? Always Interactive components such as search filters and dropdown menus include clear instructions or behave in standard keyboard-accessible ways.
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above? Always Navigation follows a logical order consistent with visual layout: Header → search bar → filters → search results → article tools → footer.
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible? Always A visible focus outline highlights links, buttons, and form fields when navigating via keyboard.
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected? Always Core functions such as searching, filtering, opening records, saving results, and navigating pages work through keyboard input.
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields? Always Search forms (including Advanced Search) follow a sequential tab order across fields such as search boxes, field selectors, and limiters.

Skip Links

Question Answer Notes Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)? Always Tested using Google Chrome. When pressing Tab at the beginning of the page, an invisible skip link becomes visible allowing users to skip directly to the main content.
Are skip links visible or invisible? Always Skip links are invisible by default and become visible when keyboard focus reaches them using the Tab key.
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page? Always Skip links appear at the top of the page when tabbing begins, before major navigation elements.
Are skip links labelled properly? Always Skip links use clear labels such as “Skip to main content”, indicating their purpose.
Are skip links accessible via keyboard? Always Skip links can be accessed using the Tab key and activated with Enter, allowing users to bypass navigation elements.
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content? Always Activating the skip link moves keyboard focus directly to the main content area.
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page? Always Skip navigation controls consistently appear at the beginning of each page when accessed through keyboard navigation.

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows? Always Using Read&Write, tables were read in the correct sequence and preserved row and column relationships.

Frames

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another? Not Applicable The database interface does not appear to use frames.
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame? Not Applicable Frames are not used in the interface.
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next? Not Applicable Frames were not observed during testing.
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