Assessment for SocIndex by Humber - Module 4: Content

Submitted by Jason.Rouatt@h… on
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Never
Score: 2
Notes:
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: some alternative descriptions are present, but they are incomplete or incorrectly implemented.

Figures alternate text - Failed: some figures are missing alt text.

Nested alternate text - Failed: some alt text is nested in a way that assistive technology will not read.

Associated with content - Passed: where alt text exists, it is linked to content properly.

Other elements alternate text - Passed: non-figure elements that need alt text appear to have it.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: The reports list Primary language "Failed"
Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: page content appears tagged, but the documents are still not fully/properly tagged overall.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Not fully. Most table structure checks passed, but Headers "Failed".
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: Standard text was read accurately. Problems arose on pages containing visuals or charts: in those cases, the assistive reader often announced only the surrounding written content while skipping the visual material, or it identified the page as blank. Because charts were not clearly announced as separate elements, it was often unclear where a heading or paragraph ended and a graphic began. Of the five articles reviewed, one was entirely inaccessible, several presented no issues, and one omitted enough content to create confusion.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: In straightforward text sections, audio playback moves through smoothly without repeatedly announcing empty gaps, but on more complex layouts...especially pages with embedded visuals or unusual spacing...it may still voice unnecessary “blank” notices.
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:
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Where a graphic heading is paired with nearby visible wording, an adequate text alternative is effectively provided; in other cases, the image appears without equivalent descriptive text, so the title information may not be conveyed clearly.
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Complex visuals did not include meaningful descriptive text, and no equivalent written explanation was provided to convey their content.
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: The tabular content lacked structural markup, and no accompanying narrative was provided to explain key patterns or findings.
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Header cells were not properly identified in a way assistive technology could interpret, so row-and-column relationships were not conveyed during navigation.
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Certain video content includes on-screen text or subtitle support, but not every clip provides captions, so availability varies across the database.
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes:
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Where captioning was absent, no separate written transcript was available as an alternative.
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: Never
Score: 0
Notes: Across all clips reviewed, no audio-description feature was available.
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: None of the videos reviewed provided audio description or a written equivalent, so there was nothing available to assess for accuracy.
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: No audio clips
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: No audio clips
eResource: SocIndex
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: EBSCO
Institution: Humber
Score: D+

Key Findings

Weaknesses

  • PDFs are searchable but not tagged
  • Videos have captions but not audio descriptions/transcripts

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Never no images
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Never no images
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Always no images

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Sometimes some alternative descriptions are present, but they are incomplete or incorrectly implemented. Figures alternate text - Failed: some figures are missing alt text. Nested alternate text - Failed: some alt text is nested in a way that assistive technology will not read. Associated with content - Passed: where alt text exists, it is linked to content properly. Other elements alternate text - Passed: non-figure elements that need alt text appear to have it. no images
Is primary language specified? Never The reports list Primary language "Failed" no images
Is reliable character encoding provided? Always no images
Are all page elements tagged? Sometimes page content appears tagged, but the documents are still not fully/properly tagged overall. no images
Are list and table structure correct? Sometimes Not fully. Most table structure checks passed, but Headers "Failed". no images

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 Standard text was read accurately. Problems arose on pages containing visuals or charts: in those cases, the assistive reader often announced only the surrounding written content while skipping the visual material, or it identified the page as blank. Because charts were not clearly announced as separate elements, it was often unclear where a heading or paragraph ended and a graphic began. Of the five articles reviewed, one was entirely inaccessible, several presented no issues, and one omitted enough content to create confusion. no images
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Sometimes In straightforward text sections, audio playback moves through smoothly without repeatedly announcing empty gaps, but on more complex layouts...especially pages with embedded visuals or unusual spacing...it may still voice unnecessary “blank” notices. no images
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Always no images

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 images

Images

Positioning of Images

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find? Always no images

Alternative Description

Question Answer Notes Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never no images
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Sometimes Where a graphic heading is paired with nearby visible wording, an adequate text alternative is effectively provided; in other cases, the image appears without equivalent descriptive text, so the title information may not be conveyed clearly. no images
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative? Never Complex visuals did not include meaningful descriptive text, and no equivalent written explanation was provided to convey their content. no images

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Never The tabular content lacked structural markup, and no accompanying narrative was provided to explain key patterns or findings. no images
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Never Header cells were not properly identified in a way assistive technology could interpret, so row-and-column relationships were not conveyed during navigation. no images

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Always no images
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Always no images

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Sometimes Certain video content includes on-screen text or subtitle support, but not every clip provides captions, so availability varies across the database. no images
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Never no images
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Always no images
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Always no images
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Always no images
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Always no images
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Never Where captioning was absent, no separate written transcript was available as an alternative. no images

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? Never Across all clips reviewed, no audio-description feature was available. no images
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Not Applicable None of the videos reviewed provided audio description or a written equivalent, so there was nothing available to assess for accuracy. no images

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 clips no images
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Not Applicable No audio clips no images
Previous1234Finish