Accessibility roadmap for RCM Research Online

This page details all of the known accessibility issues affecting RCM Research Online, 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 RCM Research Online with an explanation of what they mean.

  • Empty heading: A heading contains no content. Some users, especially keyboard and screen reader users, often navigate by heading elements. An empty heading will present no information and may introduce confusion.
  • Link to PDF document: This page may link to a PDF document. These documents may not be accessible and the need to use a separate application may cause confusion and navigation difficulties.
  • Very low contrast: There is very low contrast between foreground and background colours. This may make reading text on this page difficult for users, particularly those with low vision.
  • Skipped heading level: A heading level is skipped. This may cause confusion or difficulty for those using keyboard navigation or screen readers.
  • Very small text: Some text is very small. This may be difficult to read, particularly for those with low vision.
  • 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 screenreaders.
  • 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 is present, but it is not correctly associated with a form control. An incorrectly associated label does not provide functionality or information about the form control to the user. It usually indicates a coding or other form labeling issues.
  • Broken ARIA reference: An aria-labelledby or aria-describedby reference exists, but the target for the reference does not exist. ARIA labels and descriptions will not be presented if the element referenced does not exist in the page.
  • Tabindex: A positive tabindex value is present. These alter the natural tab order, which may cause confusion and decrease keyboard accessibility.
  • Missing alternative text: There is no alternative text for some images. This means those using screen readers are not able to access this content.
  • Empty table header: A table header contains no text. Table headers help associate table cells with the correct row/column headers. An empty table header 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.
  • 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.

Publicly accessible pages

Homepage

The following accessibility issues are known to affect the homepage:

  • Empty heading (1)

About

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

  • Link to PDF document (1)

Browse

There are no accessibility issues known to affect the browse items page.

Item detail

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

  • Very low contrast (4)
  • Skipped heading level (1)
  • Very small text (1)
  • Layout table (1)

Deposit workflow - item type

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

  • Very low contrast (4)

Deposit workflow - upload

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

  • Missing form label (3)
  • Very low contrast (4)
  • Layout table (1)

Deposit workflow - details

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

  • Very low contrast (9)
  • Orphaned form label (16)

Deposit workflow - subject

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

  • Broken ARIA reference (1)
  • Very low contrast (19)

Deposit workflow - deposit

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

  • Very low contrast (3)

Search

There are no accessibility are known to affect the simple search page.

Advanced search

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

  • Very low contrast (1)

Login

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

  • Missing form label (2)
  • Tabindex (4)

Manage deposits

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

  • Very low contrast (4)
  • Orphaned form label (1)

Review

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

  • Broken ARIA reference (3)
  • Very low contrast (4)
  • Orphaned form label (1)

Admin

There are no accessibility issues known to affect the admin page.

IR stats

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

  • Missing alternative text (1)
  • Missing form label (1)
  • Empty table header (2)
  • Very low contrast (5)
  • Select missing label (5)
  • Javascript jump menu (1)
  • Very small text (2)
  • Layout table (9)

Reports

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

  • Orphaned form label (1)

Subject editor

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

  • Missing form label (1)
  • Empty table header (1)
  • Select missing label (1)