Accessibility roadmap for Research Data

This page details all of the known accessibility issues affecting Research Data, the method that was used to find issues, and the plans in place to fix them.

Plans for fixing known accessibility issues

All of the issues that have been highlighted in this review will be fixed in a planned upgrade to this repository

Method for testing accessibility

This repository was tested using WAVE's web accessibility tool. This tool returns a comprehensive list of features that may limit the ability of users to access a website, especially those using assistive technology such as screen readers. We ran this tool on a version of the repository without branding customisation, covering the pages that users most frequently interact with.

Known accessibility issues, listed by page

These issues are listed by page. Pages that are publicly accessible are listed first, and those for repository administrators can be found lower down. The number in brackets following the description represents the number of instances of that issue on the page. Below is a list of all the accessibility issues known to affect Research Data with an explanation of what they mean.

• Very low contrast: There is very low contrast between foreground and background colours. This may make reading text on this page difficult for users, particular those with low vision.
• Redundant link: Adjacent links go to the same location. This creates additional navigation and repetition for those using keyboard and screen readers.
• Redundant title text: The title attribute is the same as text or alternative text.
• Linked image missing alternative text: There is no alternative text given for an image that is linked to from this page. This means that a screen reader has no content to present to the user regarding the function of a link.
• Redundant alternative text: Two images have the same alternative text, this often causes redundancy or indicates incorrect alternative text.
• Layout table: Layout tables are being used to position content visually, for example, to create columns or align content neatly for sighted users. These can introduce reading and navigation order issues especially for those using screen readers.
• Missing form label: A form control does not have a properly associated text label. This means that the function of the form control may not be presented to those using screen readers. The lack of visible description may also make the page harder to navigate for all users.
• Orphaned form label: A form label exists but is not correctly associated with a form control. This may cause confusion for those using screen readers.
• Suspicious link text: A link contains extraneous text or may not make sense out of context. This may cause confusion about the purpose of the link.
• Broken ARIA reference: No target is set for ARIA references, this means that the description will not be presented.
• Empty table header: A table header contains no text. This may result in cells with missing or incorrect header information.
• Select missing label: A select element may not have an associated label. This means that its purpose might not be clear to those using screen readers.
• Image with title: An image has a title attribute but no alternative text value. Though this should describe the image for those using screen readers, alternative text should be used in most cases.
• Javascript jump menu: A javascript jump menu is a select element that triggers a new web page with the onchange event handler. This may cause difficulty for users navigating the page with a keyboard as the page will change with each change in the select menu.
• Very small text: Text is very small. This may make reading text on this page difficult for users, particular those with low vision.

Publicly accessible pages

Homepage

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the homepage:

• Very low contrast (11)
• Redundant link (3)
• Redundant title text (1)

About

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the about page:

• Very low contrast (5)
• Redundant title text (1)

Browse

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the browse items page:

• Very low contrast (3)
• Redundant title text (1)

Item detail

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the item details page:

• Linked image missing alternative text (2)
• Very low contrast (14)
• Redundant alternative text (1)
• Redundant title text (1)
• Layout table (2)

Deposit workflow - upload

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the 'upload' stage of the deposit workflow:

• Missing form label (2)
• Very low contrast (4)
• Redundant title text (1)
• Layout table (1)

Deposit workflow - details

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the 'details' stage of the deposit workflow:

• Missing form label (4)
• Very low contrast (72)
• Nearby image has same alternative text (3)
• Redundant title text (1)

Deposit workflow - deposit

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the 'deposit' stage of the deposit workflow:

• Very low contrast (21)
• Redundant title text (1)

Search

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the simple search page:

• Very low contrast (2)
• Orphaned form label (1)
• Redundant title text (1)

Advanced search

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the advanced search page:

• Very low contrast (61)
• Redundant title text (1)

Login

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the user login page:

• Very low contrast (6)
• Redundant title text (1)

Profile

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the user profile page:

• Very low contrast (26)
• Suspicious link text (1)
• Redundant title text (1)
• Layout table (3)

Pages for repository administrators

Manage deposits

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the manage deposits page:

• Very low contrast (9)
• Redundant title text (1)

Review

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the review page:

• Broken ARIA reference (3)
• Very low contrast (4)
• Redundant title text (1)

Admin

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the admin page:

• Very low contrast (7)
• Redundant title text (1)

IR stats

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the IR stats reports page:

• Missing form label (1)
• Empty table header (4)
• Very low contrast (317)
• Select missing label (5)
• Image with title (3)
• Javascript jump menu (1)
• Very small text (77)
• Redundant title text (1)
• Layout table (9)

Reports

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the reports page:

• Very low contrast (3)
• Redundant title text (1)

Subject editor

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the subject editor:

• Missing form label (1)
• Empty table header (1)
• Very low contrast (7)
• Select missing label (1)
• Redundant title text (1)