A comprehensive evaluation of life sciences data resources reveals significant accessibility barriers

Area of Science:

• Life Sciences
• Bioinformatics
• Digital Health

Background:

• Individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in the scientific workforce.
• Accessibility of digital knowledge resources is crucial for life sciences research.
• Limited data exists on the accessibility of these vital resources for people with disabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively evaluate the accessibility of digital life sciences resources.
• To identify common accessibility issues and contributing factors.
• To assess the real-world impact of these issues on users with disabilities.

Main Methods:

• Collected large-scale accessibility data from 3,112 data portals and 5,099 journal websites.
• Compared accessibility metrics against US government websites as a baseline.
• Conducted an in-depth usability study with a blind user on three data portals.

Main Results:

• 74.8% of data portals and 69.1% of journal websites exhibit severe accessibility problems.
• Life sciences resources are significantly less accessible than US government websites.
• A blind user experienced a 53.3% success rate in common tasks, including data discovery.

Conclusions:

• Current accessibility standards implementation is insufficient for real-world usability.
• Addressing critical accessibility barriers is essential for inclusive life sciences research and education.
• Publicly available data and analysis can drive improvements in digital resource accessibility.