Research
Web accessibility support for visually impaired users using link content analysis
1 Kanagawa Institute of Technology, 1030 Shimo-ogino, Atsugi-City, Kanagawa, Japan
2 Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
3 Oracle Corporation Japan, SBS Tower 4-10-1, Yoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
4 Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, 2-6-1 Zempukuji, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, Japan
SpringerPlus 2013, 2:116 doi:10.1186/2193-1801-2-116
Published: 18 March 2013Abstract
Web pages are used for a variety of purposes. End users must understand dynamically changing content and sequentially follow page links to find desired material, requiring significant time and effort. However, for visually impaired users using screen readers, it can be difficult to find links to web pages when link text and alternative text descriptions are inappropriate. Our method supports the discovery of content by analyzing 8 categories of link types, and allows visually impaired users to be aware of the content represented by links in advance. This facilitates end users access to necessary information on web pages. Our method of classifying web page links is therefore effective as a means of evaluating accessibility.
