Web site accessibility evaluation methods in action. A comparative approach for ministerial web sites in Iran
| Date | 16 November 2010 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640471011093499 |
| Pages | 789-803 |
| Published date | 16 November 2010 |
| Author | Mohammad Hassanzadeh,Fatemeh Navidi |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Web site accessibility evaluation
methods in action
A comparative approach for ministerial web
sites in Iran
Mohammad Hassanzadeh
Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, and
Fatemeh Navidi
Iranian Space Agency, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to provide knowledge about methods used to evaluate the accessibility of
Iranian web sites through a real research environment.
Design/methodology/approach – The main theoretical base of this article is that almost all
research conducted to evaluate the accessibility of web sites has used only one of three methods
(namely manual, automatic and users’ experiences). However, it seems that using a combination of
these three methods is actually necessary. Consequently, taking a critical approach this article
examines 18 Iranian ministerial web sites using the three methods.
Findings – Findings in both documents and evaluative studies show that each of the methods has
deficits and it is necessary to employ a combination of the methods in order to conduct a reliable
accessibility assessment. The different rankings of ministerial web sites in various evaluations have
confirmed this view.
Originality/value – Identifying the advantages and disadvantages of the three methods and
employing them in real research environments to assess the accessibility of ministerial web sites has
been a useful exercise. The work can not only be a starting point for further discussions on the
reliability of accessibility evaluation methods, but can also be applied to other types of web site.
Keywords Iran, Research,Web sites, Information searches,Information retrieval
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The worldwide web (www) is one of the most important information service providers
on the internet and one that is vastly growing compared to other facilities and services
offered by the internet. The advent of the worldwide web brought with itself a
revolution in providing of information services to users across the globe such that
today an enormous amount of information is available on the Net. On the other hand,
its capability to present colorful graphic images, audio and video along with text and
links to other contents can be thought of as the most important reason behind the
ever-expanding use of the internet.
In the last decade, the accessibility of web sites has turned into an essential concept,
which needs to be taken intoaccount when examining any particularweb site. Web site
accessibility is defined as ensuring that the information and services provided through
the web can easily be accessed and used by a wide variety of people with different
physical and mental capabilities complying with the environmental factors and other
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
Web site
accessibility
789
Received 24 August 2009
Revised 6 October 2009
Accepted 7 October 2009
The Electronic Library
Vol. 28 No. 6, 2010
pp. 789-803
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640471011093499
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