All researchers, regardless of ability, need access to scholarly information. ProQuest is committed to providing all our users with a fully accessible experience for research, teaching and learning.  

At ProQuest, we make every effort to ensure that our platforms – including the Guided Research Platform – can be used by everyone. the Guided Research Platform is continually designed and developed to meet Level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act for features and functions. 

Please note that the Guided Research Platform is home to three products: eLibrary, SIRS Issues Researcher, and SIRS Discoverer. Unless otherwise noted individually, all three products share the same accessibility features. 

Accessibility features and gaps 

Users of the Guided Research Platform should be able to: 

• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard or screen reader.  
• Listen to most articles on the website using a text-to-speech feature. 
• Go directly to main content areas on the page using skip links. 
• Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software 
• Zoom in up to 400% using browser tools without text spilling off screen. 

There may be some parts of this website that are not fully accessible: 

• Not all events and changes on the page are communicated to screen readers 
• A small percentage of content in eLibrary is video. These videos do not have captions. 
• A small number of labels may cause difficulty for speech recognition software. 
• Some PDFs are made from scanned images and do not have text alternatives. 
• Some elements are missing visible focus states.  

If you have a disability and need to make your computer, tablet or other device easier to use, AbilityNet is a recommended resource. We also recommend browsing free add-ons offered for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Technical Information about this site’s accessibility

ProQuest is committed to making ProQuest Congressional accessible, in accordance with:

• Level A and Level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)
• Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act for features and functions.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance level and report 

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. 

Access the full Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT 2.4 and WCAG) for the Guided Research Platform. 

Accessibility of this platform 

Responsive design 

The Guided Research Platform is built to be responsive, meaning that regardless of the device you are using or the zoom level set in your browser, interface elements and content will reflow. This means that text will be legible, controls will be usable, and content will not require scrolling in multiple directions. Note that content in PDF format does not reflow due to the nature of PDF formatting, so we recommend the default HTML view if you use features like zoom. 

Keyboard and screen reader use and navigation 

The Guided Research Platform was designed with keyboard and screen reader access in mind. You should be able to search, navigate to documents, read them, and save them using just a keyboard or screen reader.  

There are a few areas that may cause difficulty for keyboard and screen reader users. While nearly all content is in accessible HTML format, a very small percentage of older content is only available in scanned image PDF format. This content is not legible with screen readers.  

Some events on the page occur without a corresponding announcement to screen readers. These include: 

• Applying a filter on the results page 
• Receiving a search result of zero results 
• When an invalid date range is entered on the Advanced Search page 
• The appearance of search suggestions. Note: to read and select these suggestions, use the down arrow key to explore after typing a few characters into the search form. 

In addition, there are a few areas that don’t have a visual focus indicator, which may make keyboard navigation difficult. These include the Translate dropdown menu, the text-to-speech “Listen” button, and the Citation Style dropdown menu – all found on document pages. 

Text to speech 

For every HTML-based document, which comprises the vast majority of content, you will find a “Listen” button near the top of the page. Activating this button will display a text-to-speech widget in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Keyboard focus will move to this widget and the document will be read with a synthesized voice. Using the widget’s controls, you can play or pause the speech, control the volume, playback speed, download an mp3 version of the audio, and close the player. 

Note that if you would like to have only a portion of the article read aloud, select the text with the mouse and click the “Listen to selection” tooltip that appears. To select text with a keyboard, turn on caret browsing in your web browsers (usually with F7 key), and then use the tab key until the “Listen to selection” tooltip is highlighted. 

Speech recognition 

The Guided Research Platform is designed for navigation with speech recognition software. There are a few small areas where the necessary voice command for a page element may not be clear. These include: 

• The placeholder text in the search input area is, for example, “Search eLibrary,” while the accessible name for voice navigation is “Search input.” 
• The accessible name for the Publication Date menu on the Advanced Search page is “Select publication range.” 
• For the Lexile Score input boxes on the Advanced Search page, there is no visual indication of what the accessible names might be. The accessible names for voice commands are “Lexile Score Minimum” and “Lexile Score Maximum.” 

Accessibility Testing 

The accessibility of the Guided Research Platform is a continual effort at ProQuest. Accessibility standards are built into our design, and style guides and included as part of requirements in our software development and quality assurance pipeline. 

The Guided Research Platform code is checked for accessibility using a range of automated and manual checks including but not limited to:  

• Color Contrast Analyzer provided by WebAIM 
• Deque aXe accessibility testing tool 
• High Contrast Chrome extension 
• Keyboard-access manual testing and assessment 
• WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation tool) provided by WebAIM 
• NVDA with Windows 
• VoiceOver with Mac 

The Guided Research Platform is tested on the latest versions of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Edge, and on devices including Mac and Windows computers, and Android and iOS devices. 

What We’re Doing to Improve Accessibility

Making content accessible is an ongoing effort at ProQuest. We’re committed to working with the community to ensure we continue to meet our customers’ needs. A list of our ongoing efforts include:

• The ProQuest Accessibility Council: a team of stakeholders working to increase accessibility resources and capabilities 
• Pursuing partnerships with colleges, universities and other institutions to assist us in reviewing and updating our accessibility standards 
• Supporting certifications for our employees
• Consulting with accessibility experts such as Deque 

Support and feedback

If you have difficulty accessing specific ProQuest content or features with adaptive technology after trying the workarounds suggested in this statement, you can contact us using the links provided below. Our support services will respond within three days and are available to accommodate the communication needs of end users with disabilities. We will work with you to identify the best option for remediation, subject to content licensing restrictions and technical capability. 

Online: ProQuest Technical Support

Phone:
United States & Canada (toll free):
+1 800 889 3358 (option 1)

Outside North America:
+800 4997 4111 or +1 734-707-2513

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This accessibility statement was prepared on February 18, 2021. It was last reviewed on February 22, 2021.

The website was last tested on February 15, 2021. The test was carried out internally at ProQuest.