Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
EDS Package	EBSCO	B

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Always

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Never

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

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	Book cover thumbnails in the search results do not use alt text but an image on a research starter result did have alt text.
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	The 'Search' and 'Search Concept Map' buttons don't have alt text but the ones for printing/emailing/citing/etc do.
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never	The 'Search' and 'Search Concept Map' buttons don't have alt text.

Content Scaling

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zoomed in at 200%, is text intact, readable, and not cut off?	Always
Are images clear and unpixelated at 200%?	Always	They look a little fuzzy but I wouldn't call it pixelated. More like fuzziness of VHS quality.
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Always

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Not Applicable
Are blocks of content separated from one another using visual separation (such as whitespace or borders)?	Always
Are text alternatives provided where colour is used to indicate an action?	Not Applicable

Text to speech

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is there a choice embedded within the database that offers text to speech or read aloud options?	Sometimes	Some academic journal articles offer this, typically the ones that have HTML full text as an option.

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
Using your mouse to test links, are links and buttons far enough apart for users to accurately activate?	Always
Using any method to test links, are all links and buttons functional (i.e., not dead)?	Always
Are links or buttons accessible via keyboard navigation?	Always

Dynamic content

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can users pause carousel movement?	Not Applicable
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Not Applicable

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Sometimes	The 'Chat Now' button overlaps text
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Sometimes	The 'Chat Now' button overlaps images
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always	Yes, with the exception of the Chat Now button overlapping a little

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	The Basic Search page uses placeholder text in the main search box. The advanced search does not. On the results page, it doesn't show up for every search but sometimes there's a grey box that shows up saying 'Looking for this publication?' and it lists a journal title relevant to the search. The search box it provides uses placeholder text. Everything else uses clear instructions.
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above?	Always
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand?	Always
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field?	Always
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available?	Not Applicable
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields?	Not Applicable

Error Prevention

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable.	Always	They are reversible.

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?	Always	The login page gives an 'invalid username and password' message.
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Sometimes	I tested by putting in my correct email but incorrect password. The 'invalid username and password' message indicates I got both wrong, which is not the case.
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Always
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Always
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Always

Search function spell-check

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When a user spells a word incorrectly, does the search function offer spelling suggestions or synonyms?	Sometimes	It seems to pick up on basic search terms with incorrect spelling (ie. 'did you mean 'health'? when search term is 'helth', 'business' for 'buisness', 'nursing' for 'nusing', etc). But it didn't offer a suggestion for 'horse and cariage' or something as misspelled as 'impact of nurses on scoiag community' or nonsensical like 'nosetat tlkgin'

Functionality of Interactive Elements

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are icons such as to save, download, or print consistent across the site?	Always
Is alternative text clear and consistent for each icon type?	Always
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”.	Always
Are icons that have adjacent links consistent?	Always
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text alone?	Always

Consistent Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the eresource have a consistent layout and navigation across all pages?	Always
Are search fields located in the same places throughout the website?	Always
Do other features occur in the same place throughout the website?	Always
Are links, buttons, images, and other components that are used repeatedly throughout a website labeled consistently?	Always

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
Does the database avoid launching pop-up windows automatically when the database is loaded?	Always
Where pop-ups occur, are users able to postpone or suppress any pop-ups?	Not Applicable
Does the database avoid launching pages in a new browser window with the usual browser controls missing?	Sometimes	The Help function opens a new window but it doesn't have the same layout/navigation as the main pages. It's like a mini encyclopedia.

Headers

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is page content subdivided hierarchically into appropriate headings and tagged appropriately?	Always
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading?	Always

Menus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do database page menus have a reasonable number of navigation items and drop-down options?	Always
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items?	Always
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation?	Sometimes	The results sorting options do not work with keyboard navigation (Relevance, Page Options, and Share). The others do.

Change of context

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the “results” page or item record view avoid opening in a new tab without a warning?	Sometimes	The only time it opens a new tab is when using the search box from the library's home page.
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content?	Always
Does the database avoid automatic redirection?	Always

Change of Context: Focus

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the form refrain from submitting automatically when a component receives focus?	Always
Does the database avoid launching new windows when a component receives focus?	Always
Does the database avoid change of focus when a component receives focus?	Always
Are you able to tab through a page using keyboard navigation without the keyboard focus moving away from the control?	Always

Navigation Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can the purpose of each link can be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context?	Always

Keyboard Navigation

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?	Always
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?	Not Applicable
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?	Always
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?	Always	Yes, but it will disappear if you mouse click anywhere
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?	Always
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?	Always

Skip Links

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?	Always
Are skip links visible or invisible?	Sometimes	Invisible, they show up when highlighted by keyboard nav
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?	Always
Are skip links labelled properly?	Always
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?	Always
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?	Never
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?	Sometimes	The Skip to Main Content link doesn't appear on the Basic/Advance Search page (the ones with the forms, before results are retrieved)

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?	Sometimes	It did not read a math equation correctly. It read a table correctly.

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Not Applicable	NVDA stated 'no previous frame' when trying to navigate, I take this to mean there are no frames being used
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?	Not Applicable
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?	Not Applicable

PDFs

Searchable PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the sampled PDFs image-only?	Sometimes	Unusual thing: one of the PDFs was searchable but it didn't highlight the single word searched, it would highlight whole sentences. An older article from 1985 was clearly scanned from its original paper source but it was copy/paste-able and searchable. The highlighted bars on the text didn't always perfectly line up the text. Same for an article from 1919 but the highlighted text was aligned better. Even an article from 1961 that was full of images and clearly a scan from a magazine (warping is visible) was copy/paste-able and searchable. I did eventually come across an image-only article from 1995. Estimated 10% are image-only.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Never	All searchable PDFs reviewed were copy/pastable
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Always

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Never
Is primary language specified?	Never
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Sometimes	Most PDFs said this failed but a couple didn't.
Are all page elements tagged?	Never
Are list and table structure correct?	Never

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	One read it in order but it Read. It. Like. This. Pausing. Between. Every. Word. The article that was a scan of a magazine with photos did not read in proper order
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?	Never
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	The older scanned pages become mildly pixelated but are still completely readable.

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Sometimes	Newer articles are laid out well. Older scanned from magazine articles with photos appear to be done to aesthetic.

Alternative Description

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Not Applicable
Do rich images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never

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	Not all have bookmarks
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Always

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Always
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?	Always
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?	Not Applicable
If the video includes described video or a text equivalent of the video, is it an accurate description of the video contents?	Not Applicable

Audio Accessibility

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is a link to a text transcript provided in reasonable proximity to the audio clip?	Not Applicable
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?	Not Applicable

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