Literature Reviews

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

• Web Accessibility Evaluation in a Crowdsourcing-Based System with Expertise-Based Decision Strategy

  Shuyi Song, Jiajun Bu, Ye Wang, Zhi Yu, Andreas Artmeier, Lianjun Dai, Can Wang (2018) — Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper presents a crowdsourcing-based web accessibility evaluation system that addresses the scalability bottleneck in manual accessibility evaluation: expert evaluators are scarce (training takes years) and expensive, yet many WCAG checkpo…

  • web accessibility
  • crowdsourcing
  • accessibility evaluation
  • WCAG
  • automated testing
  • manual evaluation
  • expertise
  • quality assurance
  • China

• On Accessibility Policies for Higher Education Institutions

  Giorgio Brajnik, Sanela Graca (2018) — Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper analyses the web accessibility policies of twenty universities across Europe, the USA, Canada, and Australia to identify what constitutes an effective accessibility policy and provide guidance for institutions creating or revising th…

  • web accessibility
  • higher education
  • accessibility policy
  • WCAG
  • organizational accessibility
  • compliance
  • Section 508
  • ADA
  • accessibility evaluation
  • governance

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Web Accessibility: Is Conformance Evaluation a Way Forward?

  Shadi Abou-Zahra, Judy Brewer, Michael Cooper (2018) — Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper from three W3C/WAI staff members explores the potential and limitations of applying artificial intelligence to improve web accessibility, proposing accessibility conformance evaluation as a strategic pathway to accelerate AI adoption…

  • artificial intelligence
  • web accessibility
  • WCAG
  • automated testing
  • machine learning
  • image recognition
  • alternative text
  • conformance evaluation
  • W3C
  • accessibility standards

• Evaluating Instructor Strategy and Student Learning Through Digital Accessibility Course Enhancements

  Claire Ferrari, Devorah Kletenik, Kate Sonka, Deborah Sturm, Amy Hurst (2019) — Proceedings of the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2019)

  This paper evaluates the Teach Access Curriculum Development Awards program, an initiative by the Teach Access consortium (comprising 10 industry partners including Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, 5 advocacy groups, and 20 university partners) to in…

  • accessibility education
  • higher education
  • curriculum development
  • WCAG
  • universal design
  • inclusive design
  • workforce development

• Combining Semantic Tools for Automatic Evaluation of Alternative Texts

  Carlos Duarte, Carlos M. Duarte, Luís Carriço (2019) — Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents SCREW v2, an updated algorithm for automatically assessing the quality of alternative texts for images on web pages from an accessibility perspective. The work is motivated by the EU Directive 2016/2102, which requires monitoring …

  • alternative text
  • automated accessibility testing
  • image accessibility
  • semantic analysis
  • computer vision
  • artificial intelligence
  • WCAG
  • web accessibility
  • accessibility evaluation
  • natural language processing

• Comparative Analysis of Web Accessibility Standards and Regulations

  Shantanu D. Ladkat (2019) — Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes a comparative analysis of web accessibility standards and regulations across different regions and organizations. The author identifies a practical problem facing the accessibility industry: there is no systema…

  • accessibility standards
  • WCAG
  • Section 508
  • accessibility compliance
  • accessibility policy
  • project management
  • accessibility remediation

• The Compliance Mindset: Exploring Accessibility Adoption in Client-Based Settings

  Emma L. Holliday (2020) — Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020)

  This short paper investigates how web accessibility is adopted in client-based settings such as consultancies and freelance work, where practitioners must navigate the tension between their own accessibility knowledge and client priorities. The study…

  • web accessibility
  • organizational accessibility
  • compliance
  • WCAG
  • automated testing
  • usability testing
  • accessibility culture
  • design methodology

• Adee: Bringing Accessibility Right Inside Design Tools

  Samine Hadadi (2021) — The 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2021)

  This extended abstract introduces Adee, an accessibility testing plugin that integrates directly into popular design platforms — Adobe XD, Figma, and Sketch — to make accessibility checking a seamless part of the design workflow rather than an aftert…

  • design tools
  • color contrast
  • color blindness
  • touch target size
  • alternative text
  • automated testing
  • Figma
  • Adobe XD
  • Sketch
  • WCAG

• A Case for Making Web Accessibility Guidelines Accessible: Older Adult Content Creators and Web Accessibility Planning

  Aqueasha Martin-Hammond, Ulka Patil, Barsa Tandukar (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '21)

  This short paper presents an experience report on partnering with older adult content creators at an independent living community to support web accessibility planning for their internal resident website. The website served as a civic participation t…

  • web accessibility
  • older adults
  • content creators
  • WCAG
  • participatory research
  • digital literacy
  • PDF accessibility
  • aging

• Cognitive Function vs. Accessible Authentication: Insights from Dyslexia Research

  Jacques Ophoff, Graham Johnson, Karen Renaud (2021) — Proceedings of the 18th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper explores the accessibility challenges that password-based authentication poses to people with dyslexia, arguing that accessibility is a neglected third dimension alongside the well-studied security and usability considerations. The authors…

  • cognitive accessibility
  • dyslexia
  • authentication
  • security
  • passwords
  • WCAG
  • cognitive disability