 |
 |
I gratefully acknowledge the suggestions, comments, and insights that we have received from Brian David, California Digital Library; Julia Caffrey-Hill, Towson University; Steven Turner; and Katherine (Kate) Deibel, Syracuse University Libraries to solve the issues related to measuring web accessibility of Indian institutes. I think finally we’re getting somewhere with the concept. Heartfelt thanks and best regards ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Kalyani, Kalyani - 741 235 (WB), India ----------------------------------------------------------------------- On Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 11:12 PM Kate Deibel < [log in to unmask]> wrote: > WebAIM offers an API for their WAVE evaluation tool, albeit not as a free > service. > > Many others have said what I would have said, but I'll make a further > comment on ARIA. For my regular work doing accessibility evaluations, more > ARIA is a RED FLAG that the page will need to be fully tested by hand with > multiple browser/screen reader combinations. The first rule of ARIA is > don't use ARIA, but many sites and many frameworks abuse it horribly. > > Furthermore, keep in mind that ARIA is currently only utilized by screen > reader technology. Disability access on the web is more than supporting > screen readers for blind and low-vision users. Mobility issues, other > sensory issues, supporting different cognitive abilities, and all forms of > disabilities must be supported. > > That all said, automatic testing of websites will only get you so far. > Keyboard navigation and focus control need to be tested by a human. > Alternative text for images, link names, and other labels need to be > evaluated for appropriateness. > > Katherine (Kate) Deibel | PhD > Inclusion & Accessibility Librarian > Syracuse University Libraries > T 315.443.7178 > [log in to unmask] > 222 Waverly Ave., Syracuse, NY 13244 > Syracuse University > > -----Original Message----- > From: Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of > Caffrey-Hill, Julia > Sent: Friday, October 23, 2020 9:37 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Web accessibility and ARIA > > Hello Dr. Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay, > I can provide some partial thoughts, and there are other members who have > strong, knowledgeable perspectives that may want to chime in also. > > Re: 2. > - For ARIA, there's consensus that a high number of ARIA found on a page > is not necessarily an indicator of accessibility and, to the contrary, a > high score is a red flag that may indicate abuse of ARIA tags. They are > easily mishandled. There are others in this community, namely Katherine > Deibel, who are prolific on this topic that I hope can chime in or link to > part presentations/resources. > - For your study, as it relates to ARIA specifically, I recommend AXE > browser extension (https://www.deque.com/axe/). I don't think an API is > available for it, but it is good for validation, and I believe is suited to > a quantitative study. There is a learning curve on understanding it. Deque > Systems, according to their training, split off from the team behind WAVE, > and built out the tool's capacity for testing ARIA tags. > > Re: 3 > - In terms of a globally recognized quantitative indicator, I'm not aware > of one. A combination of different tools is recommended, and they do have > their weak spots. I prefer mixed methods to test for web accessibility. > - For a large number of websites at a time, I understand the need for a > framework. For auditing our e-resources for accessibility, Towson > University adapted a framework from Princeton University, who in turn > adapted it from another library. My colleagues and I recently presented on > how to do this approach (Description: > https://wp.towson.edu/tcal/one-step-at-a-time-assessing-e-resources-for-accessibility-compliance/ > Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQZjTeW-69E&feature=youtu.be > - 40 mins) - I hope that's helpful and if so, I'd be interested to hear > about it. > > All the best, > Julia Caffrey-Hill > Web Services Librarian > Towson University > > -----Original Message----- > From: Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of > Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay > Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2020 7:55 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [CODE4LIB] Web accessibility and ARIA > > [EXTERNAL EMAIL - USE CAUTION] > > Hello all > > We are trying to measure web accessibility of some Indian > institutes/universities/libraries in the form of a score and then rank > those institutes/universities/libraries against the score (still at the > idea plane). The plan is to fetch data through API in a data wrangling > software for further analysis. My questions are as follows: > > 1) Are there other services (apart from WAVE) that provide results in JSON > format through API? > 2) What is the significance of *ARIA* in determining such a score for web > accessibility? Does a higher number of ARIA indicate a better > accessibility? Or is converse true? > 3) Is there any globally agreed-upon indicator for web accessibility? > > Best > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Dr. Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay > Professor, Department of Library and Information Science, University of > Kalyani, Kalyani - 741 235 (WB), India > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- >