Assessment for SciTech Premium by Durham - Module 4: Content

Submitted by trish.johns-wi… on
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Four articles checked, dated 2017, 2011, 1999 and 1969. All were extractable, but the 1999 article did not allow searching (other three did). Appears that the majority of articles are not image-only.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes:
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Four articles checked, dated 2017, 2011, 1999 and 1969. All were extractable, but the 1999 article did not allow searching (other three did). Appears that majority are searchable.
Are alternative descriptions provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: All four articles checked had some figures and other items requiring alt text.
Is primary language specified?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: For all four articles, Acrobat reports primary language as 'failed: text language is specified'
Is reliable character encoding provided?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Three of the four articles checked passed, having reliable character coding; one did not past. 75% grade.
Are all page elements tagged?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: All four articles checked had some content not tagged.
Are list and table structure correct?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: All four articles had some items not tagged
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: No problem with regular text, but there were a few problems reading some of the tables in the older articles.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
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: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes:
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes:
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes:
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes:
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes:
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Only two of the four articles checked displayed bookmarks.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Four articles were checked, with only two displaying bookmarks. Of those, only one had working section links.
Are videos captioned?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: This database has only one set of videos (49 titles).
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
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: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: One video was out of sync, others were fine.
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
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:
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes:
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: There is no separate link to the transcript; instead it is provided beside the video.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
eResource: SciTech Premium
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: ProQuest
Institution: Durham
Score: D+

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only? Sometimes Four articles checked, dated 2017, 2011, 1999 and 1969. All were extractable, but the 1999 article did not allow searching (other three did). Appears that the majority of articles are not image-only.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)? Never
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable? Sometimes Four articles checked, dated 2017, 2011, 1999 and 1969. All were extractable, but the 1999 article did not allow searching (other three did). Appears that majority are searchable.

Tagged PDFs

Question Answer Notes Images
Are alternative descriptions provided? Sometimes All four articles checked had some figures and other items requiring alt text.
Is primary language specified? Never For all four articles, Acrobat reports primary language as 'failed: text language is specified'
Is reliable character encoding provided? Sometimes Three of the four articles checked passed, having reliable character coding; one did not past. 75% grade.
Are all page elements tagged? Sometimes All four articles checked had some content not tagged.
Are list and table structure correct? Sometimes All four articles had some items not tagged

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 No problem with regular text, but there were a few problems reading some of the tables in the older articles.
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”? Always
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document? Always

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

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate? Sometimes
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers? Sometimes

Additional Navigational Aids

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks? Sometimes Only two of the four articles checked displayed bookmarks.
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document? Sometimes Four articles were checked, with only two displaying bookmarks. Of those, only one had working section links.

Video Captions

Question Answer Notes Images
Are videos captioned? Always This database has only one set of videos (49 titles).
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive? Always
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)? Always
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video? Always
Are the captions in sync with spoken words? Sometimes One video was out of sync, others were fine.
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided? Always
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided? Not Applicable

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
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents? Never

Audio Accessibility

Question Answer Notes Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip? Never There is no separate link to the transcript; instead it is provided beside the video.
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio? Always
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