Where can I locate the results of studies that test the accessibility of web pages?

Date Updated: 
04/29/19

In recent years, researchers have published their findings regarding the accessibility of web pages. Some of these findings have been made available on the web.

In Research on Web Accessibility in Higher Education, Terry Thompson, Sheryl Burgstahler, and Dan Comden evaluated ten critical sites at each of the 102 public extensive research universities in the United States. They conducted manual evaluations and automated evaluations using Bobby and compared results of the two methods.

Axel Schmetzke of the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point has conducted web accessibility studies and posted the results online. They include the following:

  • Web Page Accessibility on University of Wisconsin Campuses: 2004 Survey Data and Six-Year Trend Data
  • Web Page Accessibility on University of Wisconsin Campuses: 2003 Survey Data and Five-Year Trend Data
  • Web Page Accessibility on University of Wisconsin Campuses: 2002 Survey Data
  • Web Page Accessibility at 56 North American Universities: 2002 Survey Data on Libraries and Library Schools
  • Homepage Accessibility at the Nation's Community Colleges
  • Web Page Accessibility on University of Wisconsin Campuses: 2001 Survey Data
  • Accessibility of Distance-Education Web Sites. 2002/2001 Survey Data
  • Web Accessibility at Twenty-four U.S. Universities: 2000 Survey Data
  • Web Page Accessibility on University of Wisconsin Campuses: 2000 Survey Data
  • Web Page Accessibility on University of Wisconsin Campuses: 1999 Survey Data

There are links to each of these studies on Schmetzke's Web Accessibility Survey Site.

In WebWatch: An Accessibility Analysis Of UK University Entry Points, author Brian Kelly evaluated the entry points of 162 universities in the United Kingdom.

Barry McMullin evaluated a sample of 200 Irish websites, including some educational institutions, in WARP: Web Accessibility Reporting Project Ireland 2002 Baseline Study.