Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
Professional Development Collection	EBSCO	B+

Key Findings

Strengths

All images contain a textual alternative
Information is preserved at different screen resolutions

Weaknesses

Some text and images meet contrast requirements
Some information is distorted when zoomed in at 200%

Images

Positioning of Images

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

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Never		No Images

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		No Images

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always		No Images
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always		No Images
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always		No Images

Content Scaling

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?	Always		No Images
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?	Sometimes	On the search results page, when you click on the Images tab, the images are pixelated at 200%.	No Images
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always		No Images

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Sometimes	On the Publications Authority page, there is one "Very low contrast" error.	No Images

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Not Applicable	No colour coded graphs.	No Images
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?	Always		No Images
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?	Always		No Images

Text to speech

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options?	Never		No Images

Clustered Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Using your mouse, is the clickable area around links and buttons large enough for users to see and activate easily?	Always		No Images
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?	Always		No Images
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?	Always		No Images
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?	Always		No Images

Dynamic content

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can users pause carousel movement?	Not Applicable	No carousels.	No Images
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Not Applicable	No carousels.	No Images

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Always		No Images
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Always		No Images
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always		No Images

Key Findings

Strengths

The platform’s layout and navigation is consistent across all pages

Weaknesses

Some user input fields contain labels and clear instructions to help users successfully complete the form
Page content sometimes has appropriate headers and is tagged appropriately

Labels and Instructions for Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields accompanied by clear instructions on what the user needs to do to successfully complete the form?	Sometimes	None of the search bars in this database are accompanied by clear instructions.	No Images
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above?	Sometimes	These pages have "empty form label" errors: search results page, Recent Activity page, Subjects Authority page. These pages have "orphaned form label" warnings: Create Your Account page, Sign in with MyEBSCO page.	No Images
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand?	Always		No Images
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field?	Always		No Images
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available?	Not Applicable	No coloured form control labels.	No Images
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields?	Never	There are no visual indicators for required form fields on the Create Your Account and Sign in with MyEBSCO pages.	No Images

Error Prevention

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable.	Always		No Images

Error Reports

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alert messages clearly visible to the user, either at the top of the form field, inline, or through a dialog box?	Sometimes	Alert messages on the Create Your Account and Sign in with MyEBSCO pages show up underneath the form fields.	No Images
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Always		No Images
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Always		No Images
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Always		No Images
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Always		No Images

Search function spell-check

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When a user spells a word incorrectly, does the search function offer spelling suggestions or synonyms?	Always		No Images

Functionality of Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are icons such as to save, download, or print consistent across the site?	Always		No Images
Is alternative text clear and consistent for each icon type?	Always		No Images
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”.	Always		No Images
Are icons that have adjacent links consistent?	Always		No Images
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text alone?	Always		No Images

Consistent Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the eresource have a consistent layout and navigation across all pages?	Always		No Images
Are search fields located in the same places throughout the website?	Always		No Images
Do other features occur in the same place throughout the website?	Always		No Images
Are links, buttons, images, and other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website labeled consistently?	Always		No Images

Pop-up windows/Interruptions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the electronic resource avoid the use of pop-up windows which open automatically in a new tab if a user clicks on a button?	Always		No Images
Does the database avoid launching pop-up windows automatically when the database is loaded?	Sometimes	On the search results page, a small automatic pop up shows up that says "Select multiple results by checking this box, through the drop down, or by checking the box next to multiple results to bulk cite, save and more". Users have to click a "Got it" button to close the pop-up.	No Images
Where pop-ups occur, are users able to postpone or suppress any pop-ups?	Sometimes	Users can't postpone or supress the small pop-up on the search results page (see above).	No Images
Does the database avoid launching pages in a new browser window with the usual browser controls missing?	Always		No Images

Headers

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is page content subdivided hierarchically into appropriate headings and tagged appropriately?	Sometimes	There is an "empty heading" error on each page.	No Images
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading?	Always		No Images

Menus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do database page menus have a reasonable number of navigation items and drop-down options?	Always		No Images
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items?	Always		No Images
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation?	Always		No Images

Change of context

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the “results” page or item record view avoid opening in a new tab without a warning?	Always		No Images
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content?	Always		No Images
Does the database avoid automatic redirection?	Always		No Images

Change of Context: Focus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the form refrain from submitting automatically when a component receives focus?	Always		No Images
Does the database avoid launching new windows when a component receives focus?	Always		No Images
Does the database avoid change of focus when a component receives focus?	Always		No Images
Are you able to tab through a page using keyboard navigation without the keyboard focus moving away from the control?	Always		No Images

Key Findings

Strengths

All interactive functionality works consistently for users who are navigating a site via keyboard

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		No Images

Keyboard Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?	Always		No Images
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?	Not Applicable	Not applicable.	No Images
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?	Always		No Images
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?	Always		No Images
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?	Always		No Images
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?	Always		No Images

Skip Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?	Always		No Images
Are skip links visible or invisible?	Always	Invisible	No Images
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?	Always		No Images
Are skip links labelled properly?	Always		No Images
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?	Always		No Images
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?	Sometimes	On the search results page, when you go to the Images tab, there is a broken skip link.	No Images
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?	Always		No Images

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?	Not Applicable	No tables	No Images

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Always		No Images
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?	Always		No Images
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?	Always		No Images

Key Findings

Weaknesses

Other

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?	Sometimes	I reviewed 10 PDFs. 3 of them were not searchable or extractable. They were older articles from 1978, 1991, and 1997.	No Images
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Never	The PDFs that weren't image only (7/10 of them) were not locked.	No Images
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Sometimes	3/10 PDFs were image-only.	No Images

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Never		No Images
Is primary language specified?	Never		No Images
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Sometimes	3/10 PDFs had realiable character encoding.	No Images
Are all page elements tagged?	Never		No Images
Are list and table structure correct?	Never		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?	Never	The reading order is not set correctly, so it often jumps around between text in paragraphs, boxes, and tables in an illogical way.	No Images
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?	Sometimes	The PDFs are not structured, so there are problematic elements read out (e.g., one article read a string of numbers in a different language from the rest of the text).	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?	Sometimes	Some images and text (especially in the older articles) become pixelated at 200%.	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?	Never		No Images
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never		No Images

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?	Never		No Images
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?	Never		No Images

Additional Navigational Aids

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?	Sometimes	4/10 PDFs had bookmarks in the bookmarks panel.	No Images
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Always		No Images

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Not Applicable	No videos.	No Images
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?	Not Applicable	No videos.	No Images
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?	Not Applicable	No videos.	No Images
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?	Not Applicable	No videos.	No Images
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?	Not Applicable	No videos.	No Images
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable	No videos.	No Images
For videos that do not contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable	No videos.	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?	Not Applicable	No videos.	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	No videos.	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.	No Images
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?	Not Applicable	No audio.	No Images

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