Accessibility Statement
RefWorks Accessibility Statement
Anyone with reference management needs, regardless of ability, need access to a reference management service. The RefWorks team is committed to providing all our users with a fully accessible experience for collecting, organizing, managing and formatting references.
At ProQuest, Part of Clarivate, we make every effort to ensure that our platforms – including RefWorks – can be used by everyone. RefWorks is continually designed and developed to meet Level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act for features and functions.
Accessibility features and gaps
This statement applies to the following:
- Website
- Add-ons
- Save to RefWorks browser bookmarklet
- RefWorks Citation Manager for Google Docs (referred to as "RCM for Google Docs" throughout)
- RefWorks Citation Manager for Word (referred to as "RCM for Word" throughout), on Windows and Mac, using Word for desktop; when neither is specified, the information applies to both
- RefWorks Citation Manager-Hangul (referred to as "RCM Hangul" throughout)
- Support Resources
- Contact support form
- Sample of RefWorks training videos available on the RefWorks YouTube Channel
- Customer Knowledge Center (RefWorks content only)
- Sample of PDFs available in the Customer Knowledge Center > Resources/Support
- RefWorks Enhancements
- RefWorks faculty datasheet
- RefWorks User Guide
and does not apply to the following:
- RCM for Word using Word online (behavior is expected to be similar to the desktop version of Word)
- PDFs uploaded/imported by the user
- Quarterly RefWorks webinar recordings and RefWorks marketing videos
- Customer Knowledge Center (global components and non-RefWorks content pages will be covered in a separate VPAT)
- Word documents available in the Customer Knowledge Center
Users of RefWorks can:
- Navigate many parts of RefWorks and its add-ons and support resources using just a keyboard
- Listen to many parts of RefWorks and its add-ons and support resources using a screen reader
- Access transcripts of videos or read closed captioning
- Zoom in up to 125% using built-in browser settings without text spilling off-screen
There may be some parts of RefWorks and its add-ons and support resources that are not fully accessible:
- Some content and functionality may not be accessible using just a keyboard
- Many pages do not have unique page titles
- Some information about the name and state of interactive elements, such as accordions, dropdown menus, input fields, etc., may not be available to screen readers
- At high magnifications, zoom may interfere with access to content and features
- The layout of the website adjusts to fit comfortably in an iPad view. It is not designed for a mobile device, therefore the text will not reflow in a single column when you minimize the size of the browser window
If you have a disability and need to make your computer, tablet, or another device easier to use, AbilityNet is a recommended resource. We also recommend browsing free add-ons offered for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. See the RefWorks Accessibility Guide for more resources.
Technical Information about this product’s accessibility
RefWorks is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with:
- Level A and Level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)
- Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act for features and functions
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
Compliance level and report
RefWorks and its add-ons and support resources are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Access the full Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT 2.4 and WCAG) for RefWorks.
Accessibility of RefWorks
This section provides additional details about the accessible RefWorks features.
Keyboard navigation
Features related to key tasks in RefWorks and its add-ons and support resources are navigable with just a keyboard. The Tab, Enter/Return, and the arrow keys can be used to:
RefWorks
- Navigate the utility toolbar and Reference Actions
- Upload PDFs
- Import references directly from a third-party database
- Edit a reference while in viewing references in the Full View layout
- Assign references to a folder (from Reference Actions)
- Currently a bug triggers the Reference Editor overlay. Tip: Press the ESC key to close Reference Editor overlay
- Change how references are displayed (Normal, Table, Citation, and Full View)
- Create citations and a bibliography in the desired citation style
- View a PDF and navigate through comments (inserted via RefWorks)
Save to RefWorks bookmarklet
- Edit reference fields when importing a single reference
- Select references from a list of containing multiple references
RCM for Google Docs
- Select a folder
- Invite someone to collaborate on the document with you
- Search for references
RCM and RCM Hangul (Windows)
- Insert and edit in-text and footnote citations
- Change Projects and folders
- Change the current citation style
- Note: In RCM Hangul, you must tab through all the main menu options before reaching the main content of the screen
RCM (Mac)
- Change Projects and folders
- Change the citation style
- Insert and edit in-text and footnote citations
If you need to navigate RefWorks add-ons using only a keyboard, we recommend getting familiar with the keyboard shortcuts available in Word and Google Docs.
Please see the Non-accessible Content section for areas where keyboard navigation is incomplete.
Screen readers
In addition to visible content, RefWorks has background data that can support accessibility by being detectable by screen readers. This data includes hidden landmarks, descriptions of state (“this section is collapsed”), and other code.
RefWorks and its add-ons and support resources were tested using the latest screen reader versions. The following reader and browser combinations were tested.
Platform/Browser/Screen Reader combinations:
|
Product |
Testing combination |
|
RefWorks |
Windows 10 Pro + Chrome + NVDA |
|
Save to RefWorks |
Windows 10 Pro + Chrome + NVDA |
|
RCM for Google Docs |
Windows 10 Pro + Chrome + NVDA |
|
RCM for Word (Windows) |
Windows 10 Pro + Word 365 (desktop app) + NVDA |
|
RCM for Word (Mac) |
macOS Mojave + Word 365 (desktop app) + VoiceOver |
|
RCM Hangul (Windows) |
Windows 10 Pro + Hangul Word Processing (HWP) 2018 (desktop app) + NVDA |
Magnification
The RefWorks interface was developed to be viewed comfortably on a tablet; it was not designed for use on mobile devices. While the website only supports a limited zoom level (125%), the following RefWorks add-ons support higher magnifications (using built-in browser settings, such as CTRL +/- for Windows and Command +/- for Macs) without text spilling off-screen.:
- With the exception of the login screen, Save to RefWorks bookmarklet supports a zoom up to 300%
- RCM for Google Docs supports a zoom up to 400% unless a smaller window (or pop-up) appears above the main screen. When a pop-up is present, zooming in more than 175% may lead to hidden or overlapping content.
- When using Word online, RCM supports a zoom up to 175%.
Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox offer magnification add-ons.
Colors, Contrasts and Fonts
RefWorks is in the process of improving its stylesheet to meet minimum contrast specifications. Adjusting these aspects can also be changed using the built-in browser settings. Some browser extensions are available to change color and contrast options.
Non-accessible Content
This section provides additional details about the RefWorks content and features that are not fully accessible, and workarounds when available. There are current development efforts and future plans to remediate these items.
Keyboard navigation
The following functionality is not accessible by keyboard-only navigation:
RefWorks
Adding references
- Upload reference files, such as .ris and .nbib
- Assign references to folder during import
Managing Folders
- Create and rename folders
- Customize the order of folders
Creating and editing references (Reference Editor)
- Create a new reference
- Find reference information by title, DOI, ISSN or ISBN and navigate to the results. Workaround:
- The Find Matches icon is accessible when using a screen reader, such as NVDA.
- Use CTRL + F (or Command + F on a Mac) to find panel title
- For title match, find ‘Did you mean one of these?’
- For ISSN match, find ‘ISSN Lookup’
- For DOI match, ‘DOI Lookup’
- Press the Enter/Return key until focus moves to the Lookup Results pane. Press the ESC key to exit Find mode.
Viewing references
- Change the sorting order of references (by date added, date accessed, etc.)
Navigating references and reference details
- Navigate to the Reference Details pane or the Reference Editor of a selected reference in Table view. Workaround:
- Full view: Access the Reference Editor while viewing references in Full View
- Search: Use a search query that results in the desired reference being the only search result (for example, the Ref ID).
- Find Mode:
- Move focus to the desired reference in the reference list
- Use CTRL + F (or Command + F on a Mac) to find a word that appears in the Reference Details pane (for example, the Ref ID).
- Press the Enter/Return key until focus moves to the Reference Details pane. Press the ESC key to exit Find mode.
- Press Tab or Shift + Tab to navigate to the desired clickable component in the Reference Details pane.
Citation view: Edit a reference containing a ‘missing data’ alert.
- Navigate to a ‘missing data’ alert in the desired reference.
- Press Enter/Return to open the Reference Editor pane. Focus will be placed on the input field missing data.
Create bibliography
Differentiate authors with the same surname
PDF Viewer
- Zoom in/out, print, download, highlight, or add comments to the PDF. Workaround:
- Use a screen reader to access the PDF Viewer toolbar with arrow keys
Tools
- Install the Save to RefWorks bookmarklet in your browser
- Unable to close modal after clicking the Save to RefWorks button in tools.
Save to RefWorks
- Export references to RefWorks. Workaround:
- Save to RefWorks, Import, and Close button are accessible by keyboard when using a screen reader and arrow keys
- Assign references to a folder
- Edit the metadata of an individual reference (when a list of multiple references are displayed)
RCM for Google Docs
- Navigate through the reference list or search results
- Insert and edit citations
- Change citation styles
- Clear a search query
RCM for Word (Windows)
- Insert/Remove bibliography
- Add references to an existing citation
- If using a screen reader, accordions may become locked when editing a citation containing multiple references
- In Word 365 v16.0.13127.21668 and earlier, active focus automatically moves from the citation (content control in the document) to the RCM pane.
RCM Hangul (Windows)
- Insert/Remove bibliography
- Add references to an existing citation
- Elements and functionality are not accessible by keyboard when using the NVDA screen reader. Workaround:
- The screen reader Windows Narrator is compatible with RCM Hangul
RCM for Word (Mac)
- Insert/Remove bibliography
- Add references to an existing citation
- Navigate through the reference list. Workaround:
- Submit a search query and navigate to references included in search results
We continuously work on improving keyboard accessibility. If you have any feedback, please let us know through our contact details provided in the Support and Feedback section below.
PDF Viewer and Screen Readers
Screen readers do not have access to content in PDFs displayed in the RefWorks PDF viewer. Workaround:
- Activate the print icon in the PDF toolbar to open the PDF in the browser's PDF viewer
- If the PDF content is accessible, a screen reader will now be able to read its contents
- Note: Highlights and comments created in the RefWorks PDF viewer will not be visible the browser PDF viewer
General Issues
- Color contrast issues, specifically hint text in input fields
- Names, roles, and states may not be discernible by a screen reader
- RefWorks is not mobile-responsive
2024 Accessibility Roadmap
RefWorks
|
Issue Description |
Status |
Remediation Timeline |
WCAG 2.1 Criteria |
|
Preview and edit panels keyboard accessible from list page
|
Open
|
Scheduled for Q4 2023 release
|
2.1.1 Keyboard (A)
|
|
Keyboard accessibility in help menu in RefWorks
|
Open |
Scheduled for 2024
|
2.1.1 Keyboard (A)
|
|
Drag and drop accessible options
|
Open |
Scheduled for 2024
|
2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA)
|
|
Settings page focus
|
Open |
Scheduled for 2024
|
2.1.1 Keyboard (A)
|
RCM for Word
|
Issue Description |
Status |
Remediation Timeline |
WCAG 2.1 Criteria |
|
In RCM (Windows/Mac/Hangul), the Insert Bibliography toggle is not operable through a keyboard interface. |
Open |
Scheduled for 2023 |
|
|
Reference list is accessible by keyboard in RCM for Mac |
Open |
Scheduled for 2024 |
|
Save to RefWorks
Nothing additional planned for accessibility for Save to RefWorks.
RCM for Google Docs
Nothing additional planned for accessibility for Google Docs.
Accessibility Testing
The accessibility of RefWorks is a continual effort at ProQuest, Part of Clarivate. Accessibility standards are built into our design and style guides, and are included as part of the requirements in our software development and quality assurance pipeline.
RefWorks code is checked for accessibility using a range of automated and manual checks including but not limited to:
- NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) screen-reader utility (v2020.4) with Chrome (v91.0.4472.124)
- VoiceOver with Mac
- Web Developer Chrome extension
- Chrome developer tools
- Accessibility Insights for Web Chrome extension
- Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA) by TPGi
- Contrast Checker provided by WebAIM
- Link Contrast Checker provided by WebAIM
- High Contrast Chrome extension
- Dylan Barrell's 1.4.12 Text Spacing Bookmarklet Text
- Deque aXe accessibility testing tool
- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Accessibility Checker
- PDF Accessibility Checker 2021 (PAC 2021)
- Keyboard-access manual testing and assessment
Refer to the RefWorks Knowledge Center for a list of all supported browsers and operating systems.
What We’re Doing to Improve Accessibility
Making content accessible is an ongoing effort at Ex Libris. We’re committed to working with the community to ensure we continue to meet our customers’ needs. Our ongoing efforts include:
- Testing with users of all abilities
- The Accessibility Council: a team of stakeholders working to increase accessibility resources and capabilities
- Pursuing partnerships with colleges, universities, and other institutions to assist us in reviewing and updating our accessibility standards
- Supporting certifications for our employees
- Consulting with, and performing audits through, accessibility experts such as Deque
Support and Feedback
If you have difficulty accessing specific RefWorks content or features with adaptive technology after trying the workarounds suggested in this statement, you can contact us using the links provided below. Our support services will respond within three days and are available to accommodate the communication needs of end users with disabilities. We will work with you to identify the best option for remediation, subject to content licensing restrictions and technical capability.
Online and Chat: https://support.proquest.com/s//refworks
Email: support@refworks.com
Phone:
United States & Canada (toll-free):
+1 800 889 3358
Outside North America:
+800 4997 4111 or +1 734-707-2513
Preparation of this Accessibility Statement
This accessibility statement was prepared on September 3, 2020. It was last reviewed and updated on October, 2023.
The website was last tested in November 2022. The test was carried out internally.