Assessment Report | LEAP

Assessment Information
eResource Title	Vendor	Overall Grade
Rehabilitation Reference Center	EBSCO	B

Images

Positioning of Images

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are the images positioned prominently and easy to find?	Sometimes	Imagery is consistently placed throughout pages, but the same imagery (eg. linked imaged to specific tools/pages) are always placed in the topmost corners of the pages for this database.

Functional images embedded in the background

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are there functional images embedded in the background?	Not Applicable

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?	Never	Obviously not capable of doing an exhaustive look at every image contained in the database, but based on the multiple informational images that were scrutinized throughout the database there was a troubling amount of "IMAGE" alt tags being used in place of appropriate descriptors.
Do functional images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Sometimes	Sporadic usage of these elements, but generally they were well tagged. I found the usage of the logo in the top left corner of virtually every page to be a strange case, as it was used a link to return to main home/search page and thus had an alt tag of "New Search".
Do images used as text contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never	I found the usage of the logo in the top left corner of virtually every page to be a strange case, as it was used a link to return to main home/search page and thus had an alt tag of "New Search". More troubling, there are a bunch of exercises listed under the exercises tab, featuring images with informational text contained. These have no alt text information whatsoever and also do not contain text near the image (or at all) that describes the images or contains the text featured in the images.

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	Obviously not 100% but close enough to it and those that are not crystal clear are still overly legible.
Is horizontal scrolling minimized at 200%?	Always	Seems it's mostly some border elements in the footer of each page that necessitate horizontal scrolling. Not text/imagery is lost to it.

Colour and Contrast

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do text and images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1?	Sometimes	Most text is well contrasted, and most images are in black and white which help. But there are certain buttons through the resource which have very poor contrast (WAVE said 1:1?).

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?	Sometimes	Some specific tools, "Add search to folder" "Create alert for this search" have both text and hyperlink blue used. But a lot of links featuring blue text simply have informational text for what they are linking to, not text indicating that it is a link.

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

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	I personally found them to be spaced out to an adequate level. But not sure if that is representative of others experience.
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?	Always

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?	Sometimes	I thought the instructions were there, but only generally in the form of single word commands.
Do user input fields contain labels in addition to overall instructions mentioned above?	Always
Are descriptions for fields and boxes easy to understand?	Sometimes	Again I would say from a subjective point of view, I think they are easy to understand.
Are labels placed above the user input fields and clearly associated with each field?	Always	Although the label is placed to the left of the input field.
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	Keyword inputs that were incorrectly input, we're kept in the search box above the list or results (or return of 0 results in the case of my testing) and so you are able to edit the keywords submitted, without losing them. There is also a search history page, which features an option to revise searches, though it requires a few clicks.

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
Do alert messages clearly indicate the field in which the error has occurred and a description of the error and the fix?	Always	When failing to enter an email address in creating an account for this resource, was given the following warning: "Please provide an email address." underneath the email address field. Same with an invalid password. Note they did not clearly detail what the issue was, only how to remedy it.
Is the user able to easily access the user input field to correct the error?	Always	Able to tab between fields and they are well-spaced. I personally found it easy to navigate.
Is the user able to resubmit the form and re-validate their submission?	Not Applicable	Unable to assess this properly on account of already having an account associated with the host of this eresource. I would assume it would require an email activation??
Do error reports follow a logical reading and navigation order?	Sometimes	Note that these and the above questions relating to Error Reports are using an external sign-in windows, provided by the host of this eresource, nothing within the resource itself I believe that the reading order was somewhat misaligned as the error message came beneath the field in question.

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

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?	Not Applicable
Are actions consistently labelled across the site? For example, the “search” button is always labeled “search”.	Never	The site switches back and forth between Search and Browse.
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	Given that this is a resource with a fairly limited scope, in terms of it's offerings and available collection, I would say that the pages are generally all organized in a similar way with similar navigation tools shared for different pages. Some offer certain additional tools and links, but they are all capable of being navigated in a consistent manner.
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?	Sometimes	There are a few consistent features that lead to a pop-up in new tab or a pop-up in new window, but for the most part most links populate in the same browser window/tab.
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?	Never
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?	Sometimes	Though it seems as though some of the heading tags are hidden? Some pages had no coded hierarchical structure.
Are headings concise and clear, and accurately reflect the content under that heading?	Sometimes	On some pages, H1 seems to link to an encyclopedia? Which is not even visible on the webpage.

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	Again, from my perspective, I would think anything under ten items to be appropriate. No menu that I came across had more than ten items in a drop down menu.
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
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?	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 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	Yes
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?	Always	Though it was never the case.
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?	Always	Save for one element in most page footers, "Save to PDF" which after tabbing off of, would take users to the top of the page, before taking them back to bottom and onto next logical item.
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?	Sometimes	In the form of a black bounding box. 95ish% of elements were brought into focus.
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	For the most part it does follow a sequential order of input.

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?	Always

Frames

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?	Not Applicable
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?	Never	Of course, not including PDFs made by user through print menu!
Are the sampled PDFs locked (secured)?	Never
Are the sampled PDFs fully searchable?	Always

Tagged PDFs

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are alternative descriptions provided?	Not Applicable	It says fail, but my database only really contains a specific collection of PDFs that all seem to follow a fairly standard format. Not seeing anything with images, etc. When attempting the option to "Fix" the Figures alternate text - failed option, I received pop-up saying "There are no figures with missing alternate text."
Is primary language specified?	Never
Is reliable character encoding provided?	Always
Are all page elements tagged?	Never	Checked both accessibility report but also tag tool. Will also mention that performing a tag "fix" does rectify situation quickly and adequately, but users should not have to do so!
Are list and table structure correct?	Never	By default no.

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?	Always
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?	Sometimes	Again, most downloadable pdfs from this resource follow standard outline. Some curious choices for placement of document ending imagery/logos

Alternative Description

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Do informative images contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Not Applicable	This resources pdfs feature only one image with text, which is a logo on the first page.
Do images used as titles contain appropriate alt text or an appropriate textual alternative?	Never
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?	Never
Do table headers allow for easy navigation with screen readers?	Sometimes

Additional Navigational Aids

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Does the bookmarks panel display bookmarks?	Never
Do bookmarks link to the correct sections in the document?	Not Applicable

Video Captions

Question	Answer	Notes	Images
Are videos captioned?	Not Applicable
If captions are closed, and need to be turned on by the user, is that process straightforward and intuitive?	Not Applicable
Are captions typo-free and grammatically correct (unless slang and grammatical errors are intentionally used in the video)?	Not Applicable
Does caption placement avoid blocking any important visual components necessary to understand the video?	Not Applicable
Are the captions in sync with spoken words?	Not Applicable
For videos that contain captions, are transcripts provided?	Not Applicable
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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