Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Tool to Support Novice Auditors

  Christopher Bailey, Elaine Pearson (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper evaluates the Accessibility Evaluation Assistant (AEA), a web-based knowledge management tool designed to help novice auditors conduct accessibility evaluations, by comparing it against standard WCAG 2.0 conformance review. The AEA was dev…

  • accessibility evaluation
  • accessibility education
  • WCAG compliance
  • evaluation tools
  • accessibility training
  • novice auditors
  • structured walkthrough

• Understanding Web Accessibility and Its Drivers

  Yeliz Yesilada, Giorgio Brajnik, Markel Vigo, Simon Harper (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This highly cited study surveyed over 300 people with an interest in web accessibility to investigate how the community defines accessibility, what motivates people to work on it, and which definitions are most widely accepted. The authors note that …

  • accessibility theory
  • accessibility definitions
  • user experience
  • usability
  • accessibility policy
  • community
  • standards
  • disability models

• Smarter Board: A Community-Oriented Communication Tool

  Mateus Molinaro, Sergio Borger, Carlos Cardonha, Diego Gallo, Ricardo Herrmann, Ademir Ferreira, Fernando Koch, Priscilla Avegliano, Kelly Shigeno (2013) — Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This demo paper from IBM Research Brazil presents the Smarter Board, a lightweight community-focused social network platform designed specifically for groups of people with disabilities. The system deliberately uses SMS text messages as its primary i…

  • social accessibility
  • community
  • digital inclusion
  • communication accessibility
  • SMS
  • low-technology
  • assistive technology
  • disability community

• Experiential Transcoding: An EyeTracking Approach

  Yeliz Yesilada, Simon Harper, Sukru Eraslan (2013) — Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper introduces "experiential transcoding" — a user-centred approach to web page transformation that uses eye-tracking data from sighted users to understand how people actually experience web pages, then uses those patterns to guide transcoding…

  • eye tracking
  • user experience
  • transcoding
  • visual impairment
  • situational impairment
  • mobile accessibility
  • web accessibility
  • user research
  • content adaptation

• Prediction of Web Page Accessibility Based on Structural and Textual Features

  Sina Bahram, Debadeep Sen, Robert St. Amant (2011) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from NC State University explores whether machine learning classifiers can predict the accessibility of web pages based on structural and textual features of their DOM — features that are independent of explicit accessibility markup like a…

  • machine learning
  • accessibility evaluation
  • automated testing
  • visual impairment
  • web accessibility
  • accessibility metrics
  • artificial intelligence

• Exploring Web Accessibility Solutions in Developing Regions as Innovations for the Benefit of All

  Shadi Abou-Zahra, Shawn Lawton Henry (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  Written by two leaders of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, this paper explores the particular web accessibility challenges facing people with disabilities in developing regions and argues that solving these challenges will drive innovations bene…

  • Global South accessibility
  • digital divide
  • universal design
  • digital inclusion
  • multilingual accessibility
  • W3C
  • developing regions
  • assistive technology
  • disability rights

• Application of Traditional Software Testing Methodologies to Web Accessibility

  Cynthia C. Shelly, Mike Barta (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  Written by authors from Microsoft and the University of Washington, this paper argues that the evolution of web content from static documents to dynamic Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) demands a corresponding evolution in accessibility testing meth…

  • accessibility testing
  • software development
  • quality assurance
  • shift-left accessibility
  • automated testing
  • WCAG compliance
  • rich internet applications

• Guidelines, Icons and Marketable Skills: An Accessibility Evaluation of 100 Web Development Company Homepages

  Teresa D. Gilbertson, Colin H. C. Machin (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This study examined whether web development companies that market accessibility as a skill actually practice what they preach, by evaluating the homepages of 100 UK web development companies selected from Google searches across four geographic region…

  • web accessibility
  • WCAG compliance
  • developer awareness
  • conformance testing
  • accessibility evaluation
  • web development
  • accessibility policy

• An Adaptive Videos Enrichment System Based on Decision Trees for People with Sensory Disabilities

  José Francisco Saray Villamizar, Benoît Encelle, Yannick Prié, Pierre-Antoine Champin (2011) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the ACAV (Collaborative Annotation for Video Accessibility) project at the University of Lyon proposes an adaptive system that personalises how video accessibility descriptions are presented to users with sensory disabilities. The cor…

  • video accessibility
  • multimedia accessibility
  • machine learning
  • personalization
  • adaptive systems
  • audio description
  • sensory disabilities
  • decision trees
  • blind and low vision
  • deaf and hard of hearing

• A Simple Solution: Solution Migration from Disabled to Small Device Context

  Yeliz Yesilada, Tianyi Chen, Simon Harper (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper demonstrates how accessibility solutions developed for motor-impaired desktop users can be migrated to benefit small-device (mobile) users who experience similar input difficulties. The authors had previously replicated a study originally …

  • motor accessibility
  • mobile accessibility
  • input methods
  • situational impairment
  • error correction
  • universal design
  • assistive technology