Literature Reviews

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

• Accessmonkey: A Collaborative Scripting Framework for Web Users and Developers

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Richard E. Ladner (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper introduces Accessmonkey, a JavaScript-based scripting framework that enables web users, developers, and researchers to collaboratively improve web accessibility through client-side page modifications. Built as an extension of the Greasemon…

  • web accessibility
  • web transcoding
  • browser extensions
  • JavaScript
  • collaborative accessibility
  • alternative text
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • developer tools
  • user empowerment

• A Semantic-Web Based Framework for Developing Applications to Improve Accessibility in the WWW

  Christos Kouroupetroglou, Michail Salampasis, Athanasios Manitsaris (2006) — Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents a Semantic Web application framework designed to improve web accessibility by adding a metadata annotation layer on top of existing web pages. The framework addresses a core problem for blind users: screen readers serialize web pa…

  • semantic web
  • ontology
  • web annotation
  • blind users
  • voice browser
  • screen readers
  • RDF
  • OWL
  • information seeking
  • crowdsourcing
  • web accessibility

• Is Wikipedia Usable for the Blind?

  Marina Buzzi, Barbara Leporini (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper evaluates the accessibility and usability of Wikipedia for blind screen reader users by analyzing three key interaction modes: browsing the home page, searching and viewing results, and editing content. The authors tested both the English …

  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • wiki accessibility
  • usability
  • Wikipedia
  • JAWS
  • collaborative environments
  • keyboard accessibility
  • WAI-ARIA
  • e-learning

• A Web Design Framework for Improved Accessibility for People with Disabilities (WDFAD)

  Rehema Baguma, Jude T. Lubega (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Makerere University in Uganda proposes WDFAD (Web Design Framework for Improved Accessibility for People with Disabilities), a developer-oriented framework that repackages web accessibility requirements according to the three componen…

  • web accessibility
  • accessibility framework
  • blind users
  • screen readers
  • web design
  • developer tools
  • non-functional requirements
  • Uganda
  • Global South accessibility

• More than Meets the Eye: A Survey of Screen-Reader Browsing Strategies

  Yevgen Borodin, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Glenn Dausch, I. V. Ramakrishnan (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This comprehensive survey catalogues the browsing strategies that experienced screen reader users develop to overcome the accessibility and usability barriers they encounter on the web. Drawing from multiple user studies, the authors document how bli…

  • screen readers
  • blindness
  • browsing strategies
  • web navigation
  • usability
  • keyboard navigation
  • dynamic content
  • ARIA live regions
  • user research
  • assistive technology

• Interactive SIGHT into Information Graphics

  Seniz Demir, David Oliver, Edward Schwartz, Stephanie Elzer, Sandra Carberry, Kathleen F. McCoy (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents Interactive SIGHT (Summarizing Information GrapHics Textually), a system that provides visually impaired users with access to the high-level knowledge conveyed by bar charts in electronic documents. Unlike approaches that simply r…

  • visual impairment
  • data visualization
  • natural language generation
  • graph accessibility
  • bar charts
  • image accessibility
  • alternative text
  • Bayesian network
  • information retrieval
  • interactive dialogue
  • screen readers

• WebAnywhere: Experiences with a New Delivery Model for Access Technology

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Wendy Chisholm, Richard E. Ladner (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This follow-up paper describes the evolution of WebAnywhere two years after its initial release, documenting how it expanded from a web-based screen reader for blind users into a broader platform for delivering access technology. Released publicly in…

  • screen readers
  • blindness
  • low vision
  • web-based assistive technology
  • text-to-speech
  • speech recognition
  • open source
  • digital equity
  • internationalization
  • cloud computing
  • AT delivery

• WebAnywhere: A Screen Reading Interface for the Web on Any Computer

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Craig M. Prince, Sangyun Hahn, Richard E. Ladner (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper introduces WebAnywhere, a free web-based screen reader from the University of Washington that enables blind users to access the web from any computer with a standard browser and sound capability, without installing any software. The …

  • screen readers
  • blindness
  • web-based assistive technology
  • text-to-speech
  • digital equity
  • cloud computing
  • JavaScript
  • proxy server
  • portable accessibility

• Designing Search Engine User Interfaces for the Visually Impaired

  Barbara Leporini, Patrizia Andronico, Marina Buzzi (2004) — Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper examines the fundamental differences between visual and aural perception of search engine interfaces and proposes specific design guidelines to improve usability for blind and visually impaired users interacting via screen readers. The aut…

  • visual impairment
  • screen readers
  • search engines
  • user interface design
  • web navigation
  • blindness
  • usability
  • keyboard navigation
  • aural perception
  • information retrieval

• Audio Presentation of Auto-Suggest Lists

  Andy Brown, Caroline Jay, Simon Harper (2009) — Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper investigates how to make auto-suggest lists (ASLs) — the dropdown suggestions that appear as users type in search boxes and form fields — accessible through audio for visually impaired users. Part of the SASWAT (Structured Accessibility St…

  • visual impairment
  • screen readers
  • dynamic content
  • Web 2.0
  • auto-suggest
  • autocomplete
  • eye tracking
  • AJAX
  • ARIA live regions
  • non-visual interaction
  • audio interface