Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
Alexander Street Press	ProQuest	B

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Sometimes	Most images are placed prominently. The only exceptions are the links to Alexander Street's Youtube, Twitter and Facebook page, which are represented by fairly small icons at the bottom left of the page.

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	Not a lot of icons but they are where you'd expect them to be.

Alt Text

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	Four buttons on the home page all contain the same alt text - logo. The logo for the database at the top of the page contains no alt text and it links to the home page. Otherwise, the images seem to contain appropriate alt text as well as having regular text following most images.
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Always
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never	The only instance of this that I can find is the logo at the top of the page, and there is no textual equivalent.

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
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?	Sometimes	There are a few errors on the home page, but otherwise it scores very highly on contrast issues.

Colour

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do colour coded graphs have text equivalents?	Not Applicable	I haven't been able to locate any graphs in this database.
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?	Always

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	I have looked at several text documents and don't see an option for HTML full text. I am unable to ascertain what format the text documents are in - I suspect pdf, but I'm not sure.

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?	Never	There only appears to be one carousel in this db. It's on the homepage and scrolls very slowly, and there are a fairly limited number of options displayed. You can use arrow keys to move it back and forth, but you can't seem to pause it.
Is all functionality, including navigating between carousel items, operable by keyboard?	Sometimes	You can access the carousel items using the keyboard, but you can't seem to navigate between the different items in the carousel with the keyboard.

Liquid layout

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Is the order of the text preserved at all screen resolutions, without overlap?	Always
Do images avoid overlapping at all screen resolutions?	Always
Is the overall reading experience preserved at all screen resolutions?	Always

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?	Always
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?	Sometimes	The Labels are placed to the left of the User Input Fields but are clearly associated with each field.
Are text cues for coloured form control labels available?	Never
Are other visual indicators provided consistently, such as an asterisk for required form fields?	Always

Error Prevention

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are user input fields either reversible, checked, or confirmed? One of the three is acceptable.	Always	There are not many forms on this site. The ones that do exist seem to be 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?	Never	I was unable to find any error reports.
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Not Applicable
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Not Applicable	No Error reports.
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Always	You seem to always be able to back up and the forms retain your input.
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Not Applicable	No error reports.

Search function spell-check

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When a user spells a word incorrectly, does the search function offer spelling suggestions or synonyms?	Never	The Advanced Search Form does check each term after the field has been filled, so if you've mis-entered a term, right away you'll know that you are getting zero results.

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?	Always

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?	Sometimes	There are a lot of dropdown menus - The one for My Collections has 54 items, the one for Disciplines has 11, but each one of them has further menus.
Does the main navigation and drop-downs contain a reasonable number of menu items?	Sometimes	I'm not sure. There are an awful lot, and if you were doing it on a keyboard, I think it could be frustrating.
Can all menus and submenus be accessed with screen readers and via keyboard navigation?	Always

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	Pages never open in new tabs.
Is there an "update now" button that requests a refresh of content rather than automatically updating the content?	Never
Does the database avoid automatic redirection?	Never

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?	Never	I haven't found an instance where moving focus away requires more than a tab key.
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?	Sometimes	Most of the time, but I do find on the main page that focus disappears when you get to the Carousel display.
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)?	Never
Are skip links visible or invisible?	Not Applicable
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?	Not Applicable
Are skip links labelled properly?	Not Applicable
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?	Not Applicable
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?	Not Applicable
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?	Not Applicable

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?	Not Applicable	This is a database of multimedia files with some text files. I can't find any tables in the database.

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Not Applicable	No frames.
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?	Not Applicable	No pdfs in this database.
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Not Applicable
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Not Applicable

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Not Applicable
Is primary language specified?	Not Applicable
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Not Applicable
Are all page elements tagged?	Not Applicable
Are list and table structure correct?	Not Applicable

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?	Not Applicable
Does the Read out Loud function avoid problematic elements such as excessive blank spaces read as “blank”?	Not Applicable
Are the controls consistent and effective for navigating through the document?	Not Applicable

Magnification

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
When zooming in to 250%, does all text, images, tables, and other elements appear clear and easy to read?	Not Applicable

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Not Applicable

Alternative Description

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Not Applicable
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?	Not Applicable

Tables

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are tables tagged and described with in-text summaries where appropriate?	Not Applicable
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?	Not Applicable

Additional Navigational Aids

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?	Not Applicable
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Not Applicable

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Sometimes	The videos usually appear with open captions in a split screen where the current speakers words are highlighted as they are said. There is often but not always a close-captioned option as well, which can be turned on and off. I did find a Spanish video that included Spanish subtitles in the original source, but did not include either close-captioning or open captioning. In addition, I watched a Spanish video where the transcript mirrored the embedded English subtitles, but there was no option for a transcript or CCing of the actual Spanish words.
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?	Always	Usually, close-captioning exists in ADDITION to the open captioning, and there is an obvious CC box under the screen to turn them on and off. I believe on is the default. Not every video has this, however, but almost all have a dynamic transcript. I have seen the open-captioning transcript without the CC, but never the other way around.
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?	Always	In all the examples I viewed, everything has been done correctly.
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?	Sometimes	It appears at the bottom of the screen, so presumably it could be in the way if there was information there.
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?	Sometimes	I found only one video without a transcript.

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	There is a transcript of the dialogue with some description of sounds e.g. (music) but no description of the visuals.
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
If a transcript is provided, does it accurately capture the content of the audio?	Not Applicable

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