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Web of Science Platform

Summary

This report reflects the findings of a high-level assessment of the Web of Science (Clarivate) platform for its conformance with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (WCAG 2.1).

There are very few WCAG 2.1 compliance issues with Web of Science, and they are very minor overall with the most pressing issue being around focusable elements and the use of color. The following issues are the most important to address to improve system compliance.

Top 3 Issues:

  1. Informational Buttons: The prevalent problem with the accessibility of Web of Science resources involves the informational buttons in the filter panel of the search results page and the citation report. These buttons are not keyboard accessible but contain important information about the filters and dashboard information that does not seem to read out for screen readers. This information needs to be made accessible to all users either by making the info button keyboard accessible within the logical flow of content, or by surfacing the information so it can be picked up by the screen reader.
  2. Use of Color: Another major issue involves the use of color. Currently many of the buttons and components across the platform use color as the primary means of conveying the change of state in the component, including the focus state. The color change is not significant and does not meet a minimum 3:1 difference between the states and does not have another indicator for identifying the element being focused. This can make it very difficult for users with visual impairments to identify which component is currently focused. The simplest solution for this is to add a focus ring to all elements that is a minimum of 2 CSS pixels and a minimum of 3:1 contrast with the background and the edge of the focused element. This can be achieved easily by adding padding between the focus ring and the focused element.
  3. PDF Content: The PDF that was tested as a part of this analysis did not meet Section 508 compliance rules. It is understood that the PDF was retrieved from a different resource and Web of Science likely does not have the ability or responsibility to ensure that the PDF meets this requirement. However, any PDF content that is hosted by the platform should pass the Section 508 PDF Checklist.