The Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology (SIAT) (http://www.hi.se) is using Survey Generator to conduct various online surveys among different user groups. inUse (http://www.inuse.se) has been commissioned by SIAT to evaluate Survey Generator from an accessibility perspective.
Accessibility guidelines for web surveys
W3C has developed recommendations for accessibility. These are now available in version 2.0. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. In WCAG 2.0 there are four fundamental principles. The basic principles are:
1. Perceivable
Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. This means that users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses)
2. Operable
User interface components and navigation must be operable. This means that users must be able to operate the interface (the interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform)
3. Understandable
Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. This means that users must be able to understand the information as well as the operation of the user interface (the content or operation cannot be beyond their understanding)
4. Robust
Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that users must be able to access the content as technologies advance (as technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible)
inUse has in discussion with SIAT selected relevant criteria and from these evaluated the web survey tool. Survey Generator meets WCAG 2.0's guidelines.