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Article Citation - WoS: 26Citation - Scopus: 35Web Accessibility in Turkey: Awareness, Understanding and Practices of User Experience Professionals(Springer Heidelberg, 2019) Inal, Yavuz; Rizvanoglu, Kerem; Yesilada, YelizEnsuring web accessibility for all is not an easy task and requires the awareness, understanding and practices of people with different roles. User experience professionals (UXPs) play an important role in ensuring web accessibility for all. However, in Turkey, there is no research concerning the status of the awareness, understanding and common practices of UXPs. The overall goal of the present work was to offer an assessment of the current situation in Turkey to suggest areas of improvement and changes to advance web accessibility practices. To meet this goal, we conducted an online survey. The results of this survey show that UXPs believe they have enough training and education in web accessibility; however, they are not familiar with web accessibility standards and assistive technologies used by people with disabilities. They do not work with people with disabilities in their studies on usability, and they do not consider web accessibility in their projects. Our findings also show that UXPs have a top-down approach to web accessibility and they think that it is the responsibility of project managers to make web applications accessible. In brief, the study showed that UXPs in Turkey need to be better educated and trained on web accessibility, and organizations need to realize that both top-down and bottom-up approaches are required to ensure accessibility of the web for all.Article Citation - WoS: 39Citation - Scopus: 49Usability and Accessibility Evaluation of Libyan Government Websites(Springer Heidelberg, 2019) Karaim, Nuha Awlad; Inal, YavuzThe aim of this study was to evaluate the usability and accessibility of Libyan government websites. A total of ten government websites in Libya were analyzed according to the criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0, and one of them was selected for further analysis based on usability criteria. The results showed that the evaluated website had significant number of usability problems. More than half of the usability problems were rated as major and catastrophic. Visibility of system status, user control and freedom, and user help recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors were the most violated heuristic items. All Libyan government websites did not pass accessibility evaluation using the AChecker tool with the exception of the website for Management of Scholarships, and all failed using the TAW tool. Providing text alternatives for each non-text element was the most frequently violated success criterion for Libyan government websites.Article Citation - WoS: 32Citation - Scopus: 43Accessibility Evaluation of Top University Websites: a Comparative Study of Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkey(Springer Heidelberg, 2018) Ismailova, Rita; Inal, YavuzIt is important that university websites and services offered through their sites are used effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily by the whole target group of the university, including disabled users. However, universities in many countries are still unable to meet the criteria for web accessibility. This study aimed to test the websites of the top universities in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey using automated assessment tools. The results showed that university websites are more popular in Turkey, and in Turkish universities developers pay more attention to the performance of websites, followed by websites of Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz and Kazakh universities. The majority of the university websites in the study did not meet the WCAG 2.0 accessibility criteria. Only two Kyrgyz and two Kazakh university websites attained conformance level A, and only three, one Kyrgyz and two Kazakh, achieved accessibility conformance level AAA. Based on the results, it was determined that universities included in the present study need to devote more effort to making their websites more accessible for their users.Article Citation - WoS: 18Citation - Scopus: 24University Students' Heuristic Usability Inspection of the National Library of Turkey Website(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2018) Inal, YavuzPurpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability of the National Library of Turkey website developed for all citizens in the country to retrieve information available in a wide range of areas. Design/methodology/approach - The evaluation performed by 57 undergraduate university students involved the identification and analysis of usability problems in the selected website. The assessment process was mainly based on Nielsen's Heuristics. The data obtained in the evaluation process were enriched using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to conduct a more detailed analysis. Findings - The participants identified many usability problems concerning the evaluated website and considered it as having low usability characteristics. The most violated heuristic item was found to be "consistency and standards" whereas the least violated heuristic item was "match between system and the real world." The total number of the usability problems in heuristic evaluation correlated significantly and negatively with the SUS and the NPS results indicating that the more participants identified usability problems, the less they considered the website as usable and recommendable. Research limitations/implications - The participants were not usability experts, however they were selected from among the students who received the Human Computer Interaction course to ensure that they had sufficient information and experience concerning the evaluation of a website with heuristics. Besides, the study was limited to a small number of university students. The implication is that results of this study have potential to guide libraries, which plan to adapt themselves to the digital world by delivering web services, by addressing critical points influencing users' points of views toward library websites and their usability evaluation result. Practical implications - Depending on the changes in user habits regarding the retrieval of information, libraries have made considerable investments in web technologies to meet their users' demands, and recently, digital libraries have begun to take over physical libraries. Users always need to perform tasks efficiently, effectively and satisfactorily when using websites. As one of the most crucial sources of digital materials, library websites are expected to have usable characteristics that satisfactorily meet user requirements. Therefore, the practical implication is that the findings of the study will guide designers, developers and practitioners in the development of library websites. Originality/value - In the context of usability evaluation of digital libraries, this is the first study to analyze effects of usability problems identified by users during the heuristic inspection on their overall evaluation score and willingness to recommend the website to their friends or colleagues.
