Accessibility in web design is very important. It allows for users with visual impairments and other disabilities to effectively maneuver through sites without hinderances. My research project centers around the issue of accessibility and how a lot of users who are visually impaired are getting overlooked by developers and designers.
Rounding out my searches in an attempt at full saturation, I wanted to look more at the Sage database, which is the database for a journal recommended by Duesbery and Twyman. I felt like I was missing some information and thought this would help fill in some gaps. I found limited results but was successful in finding some extra sources that aligned very well with my topic and that I would have missed had I not searched Sage. In my search, I came up with some new keywords that were mildly helpful. I note those later in my searches.
First search: Sage Premiere database
“Website design” AND “accessibility” limited by Access Type of “Only content to which I have full access”
Over 24,000 results returned. Limited further by using a custom publication date range of 2010 to 2022 (web design and technology moves so fast, I want to make sure I have as many up-to-date sources as possible, so my work isn’t irrelevant).
My results were then narrowed down to about 17,000 but that is still too many.
I was going to try and narrow down even further, but my attention was caught by the first article which discussed legal as well as ethical implications of website accessibility and urges instructors to emphasize these practices. It seems to be a great resource for the legal aspects of accessibility.
Annotation:
Palmer, Z.B., & Palmer, R. H. (2018). Legal and Ethical Implications of Website Accessibility.
Business Professional Communication Quarterly, 81(4), 399-420.
This article covers the most relevant legal cases within the United States in regard to website accessibility and urges instructors and students to, with suggestions, to prioritize accessibility. This peer-reviewed article presents the legal implications of top legal accessibility cases. While author information is not available, the publication in which the article was published is peer-reviewed and respected in the field of communication. The information in this article will help ground my research in legal founding and will help facilitate discussion about real-world consequences associated with sites that are not designed to be accessible.
From that first search, I found a pew research article that broke down the results from a survey by categorizing different factors that can lead to the “digital divide.” I am putting in a citation for now, but I don’t think I will need this reference.
Caumont, A. (2013). Who’s not online? 5 factors tied to the digital divide. Retrieved from Pew Research Center: http://pewrsr.ch/1iRtbM9
One thing I forgot to mention last week is that while I’ve been looking for resources, I have come across the term “digital divide.” At first, the context that I was seeing this phrase pop up in had to do with senior citizens, but I have since come to understand it as more of an encompassing phrase that pertains to all ages. The “digital divide” as I understand it now is referencing the divide between those who are able to access the internet with little to no issue and those who are being left behind because of accessibility laws and design regulations that are still not being enforced. This leaves many citizens behind and as we move into a deeper digital age. I attempted to use “digital divide” as a search term but didn’t have much luck in finding sources relevant to the context of my research.
Second search: Sage Premiere database
Terms: “web design AND accessibility AND university instruction”
Limiters: range 2010 to 2022 and only full access just like my first search
This led me to a fantastic research article that talks about university instruction on how to achieve accessible web design and gives guidance to instructors on how to do so. I was giving up hope on finding resources like this, so I’m very happy to have come across this article.
Annotation:
Youngblood, S. A. (2013). Communicating Web Accessibility to the Novice Developer: From User Experience to Application. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 27(2), 209–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651912458924
This article talks about the need for exigency in university settings and emulation of the experience of visually impaired users as a way of teaching and enforcing accessibility design. This peer-reviewed article concisely addresses issues with accessibility and addresses avenues that could be taken to resolve those issues. The author has multiple publications and a PhD in technical communications. The information in this article ties together the need and issues surrounding accessibility and how to solve them in a practical way at the university level. It can also tie together ways that self-taught developers can teach themselves about accessibility.
Third search: I went back to the Forsyth Library main search and decided to try my luck there. I seem to be closing in on saturation as I’m not finding anything new. I want to exhaust all avenues. I’m trying to stay focused on questions in regard to how accessibility is taught and emphasized to those who are pursuing degrees in web development, so I searched:
Terms: “web design accessibility” AND “university instruction”
Limiters: full text and peer-reviewed
Annotation:
Craven, J., Nietzio, A. (2007). A task-based approach to assessing the accessibility of web sites. Performance Measurement and Metrics, 8(2), 98-109, https://primo-tc-na01.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1gg1pl4/TN_cdi_emerald_primary_10_1108_14678040710760603
This article goes into depth about a study undertaken for the European Internet Accessibility Observatory project. It analyzes how effective task-based approaches to accessibility measurements are. This study, while it could be helpful, has limitations. Due to limited resources, not all accessibility barriers were assessed. On its own, this study has limitations that need to be considered when referenced, but with other sources, can help provide a framework for developers to go off of in an effort to focus on accessibility assessments.
Fourth search: I wanted to fill in some information gaps and focus on non-university instruction. I’ve noticed a trend of “web designers” who use website builders instead of coding from scratch.
Limiters: “website builder tools” AND “accessibility” full text online, peer revies, articles
Annotation:
Gonçalves, R., Martins, J., Pereira, J., Oliveira, M., & Ferreira, J. (2013). Enterprise Web Accessibility Levels Amongst the Forbes 250: Where Art Thou O Virtuous Leader? Journal of Business Ethics, 113(2), 363-375, https://primo-tc-na01.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1gg1pl4/TN_cdi_springer_primary_2012_10551_113_2_1309
This research study looked at Forbes 250 largest enterprises to measure the level of accessibility on their websites using Sortsite. Assess The article was published in the Journal of Business Ethics, a scholarly journal publication. This article relates the need for better accessibility at high levels of business practices and will help highlight the need for accessibility in all facets of society. It is not as reputable a source as others but will act as filler information.
Fifth search: Communications & Mass Media Collection Database
Terms: “digital divide”
Limiters: full text, peer reviewed, academic journals
Annotation:
Huffman, S. (2018). THE DIGITAL DIVIDE REVISITED: WHAT IS NEXT? Education, 138(3), 239+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A531709941/PPCM?u=klnb_fhsuniv&sid=bookmark-PPCM&xid=352f1616
This article provides a great overview on what the digital divide is. The author discusses what used to be meant by digital divide and what it means now. It does not focus specifically on web design but could be a good springboard. This peer-reviewed article presents concise information about the digital divide and defines a new digital divide. The author is well respected in Education and has multiple publications. The information in this article helps connect current issues to outdated definitions and looks forward to how these problems can be solved or at least redefined.
Sixth search: Communications & Mass Media Complete Database
Terms: “visually impaired” AND “web design”
Limiters: full text online and peer-reviewed
This only resulted in two results but the second article could be helpful to help paint a full picture as to everyday type hurdles the visually impaired face online in an attempt to use current, evolving digital media
Annotation:
Davis, J.J. (2003). The Accessibility Divide: The Visually-Impaired and Access to Online News. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 47(3), 474-481, http://ezproxy.fhsu.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.fhsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=13713236&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
This study evaluates how accessible the news is to visually impaired users. This article is about 20 years old and not very significant compared to other sources. The author is an associate professor in the School of Communication at San Diego State University. While not as relevant, this article could potentially help inform how much has or has not changed in regards to accessibility within the last 20 years.
After these last few searches, I felt that I have come to an acceptable level of saturation. I’m at the point where I have exhausted keywords and have trouble finding new and relevant sources. I do want to disclaim that I have a couple of sources that I’m still looking into and have yet to make annotations for.