A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)

Purpose: The present research aims to comparatively study different methods for evaluating the accessibility of websites and analyze the results of case study concerning websites of ministries of Iranian government, in order to indicate the strengths, weaknesses, and differences in evaluation findin...

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Main Authors: Mohammad Hasanzadeh, Fatemeh Navidi
Format: Article
Language:fas
Published: Iran Public Libraries Foundation 2010-08-01
Series:تحقیقات اطلاع‌رسانی و کتابخانه‌های عمومی
Subjects:
Online Access:http://publij.ir/article-1-84-en.pdf
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author Mohammad Hasanzadeh
Fatemeh Navidi
author_facet Mohammad Hasanzadeh
Fatemeh Navidi
author_sort Mohammad Hasanzadeh
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: The present research aims to comparatively study different methods for evaluating the accessibility of websites and analyze the results of case study concerning websites of ministries of Iranian government, in order to indicate the strengths, weaknesses, and differences in evaluation findings by applying each of website accessibility methods. Methodology: In this paper, initially the previously performed studies regarding websites’ accessibility have been reviewed. In next section, a survey was made on methods for accessibility evaluation, as well as comparison of advantages and drawbacks of each method. Finally, results of accessibility evaluation on websites of ministries of Iranian government (including 21 ministries) have been compared based upon manual evaluation methods, automatic evaluation methods, and evaluation of clients’ experiences. Manual evaluation was carried out using 12 indices extracted from web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) provided by worldwide web consortium: W3c/wai 1.0. Also, evaluation of clients’ experiences was accomplished by survey based on focus groups and replying the questionnaire. Automatic evaluation was achieved by Webxact automatic software. Findings: Considering different findings of these three evaluation methods, it can be stated that automatic evaluation tools can be utilized only for recognition of websites’ errors, since these software precisely provide a list of errors for each priority and are website developers’ guide for correcting the errors. Results of merely evaluating client’s experience are not useful, as some personal opinion may change the results. If human experts would be present, interpretation of errors and making practical suggestions are possible in manual evaluation method. Therefore, considering the remarkable difference observed between findings of these three evaluation methods, use of an integrated evaluation method including the three aforementioned ones was confirmed. Originality/Value: No research has so far comparatively evaluated the methods for evaluation of websites’ accessibility. Besides theoretical comparison of the existing methods, the present research reports in an objective manner the application of mentioned methods in an objective study.
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spelling doaj.art-76d137412c924555aaed692284200dd02023-12-14T05:08:02ZfasIran Public Libraries Foundationتحقیقات اطلاع‌رسانی و کتابخانه‌های عمومی2645-57302645-61172010-08-01162527A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)Mohammad Hasanzadeh0Fatemeh Navidi1 Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran Iranian Aeronautical Organization Purpose: The present research aims to comparatively study different methods for evaluating the accessibility of websites and analyze the results of case study concerning websites of ministries of Iranian government, in order to indicate the strengths, weaknesses, and differences in evaluation findings by applying each of website accessibility methods. Methodology: In this paper, initially the previously performed studies regarding websites’ accessibility have been reviewed. In next section, a survey was made on methods for accessibility evaluation, as well as comparison of advantages and drawbacks of each method. Finally, results of accessibility evaluation on websites of ministries of Iranian government (including 21 ministries) have been compared based upon manual evaluation methods, automatic evaluation methods, and evaluation of clients’ experiences. Manual evaluation was carried out using 12 indices extracted from web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) provided by worldwide web consortium: W3c/wai 1.0. Also, evaluation of clients’ experiences was accomplished by survey based on focus groups and replying the questionnaire. Automatic evaluation was achieved by Webxact automatic software. Findings: Considering different findings of these three evaluation methods, it can be stated that automatic evaluation tools can be utilized only for recognition of websites’ errors, since these software precisely provide a list of errors for each priority and are website developers’ guide for correcting the errors. Results of merely evaluating client’s experience are not useful, as some personal opinion may change the results. If human experts would be present, interpretation of errors and making practical suggestions are possible in manual evaluation method. Therefore, considering the remarkable difference observed between findings of these three evaluation methods, use of an integrated evaluation method including the three aforementioned ones was confirmed. Originality/Value: No research has so far comparatively evaluated the methods for evaluation of websites’ accessibility. Besides theoretical comparison of the existing methods, the present research reports in an objective manner the application of mentioned methods in an objective study.http://publij.ir/article-1-84-en.pdfaccessibility evaluationwebsites of ministriescase studyautomatic evaluationmanual evaluation
spellingShingle Mohammad Hasanzadeh
Fatemeh Navidi
A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)
تحقیقات اطلاع‌رسانی و کتابخانه‌های عمومی
accessibility evaluation
websites of ministries
case study
automatic evaluation
manual evaluation
title A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)
title_full A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)
title_fullStr A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)
title_full_unstemmed A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)
title_short A Comparative Study on the Application of Different Methods for Evaluating the Accessibility of Websites(Case Study: Websites of Ministries of Iranian Government)
title_sort comparative study on the application of different methods for evaluating the accessibility of websites case study websites of ministries of iranian government
topic accessibility evaluation
websites of ministries
case study
automatic evaluation
manual evaluation
url http://publij.ir/article-1-84-en.pdf
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