Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/31373
Title: Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water: Bridging Perspectives on Alternative Text and Recommendations for Practice
Authors: Droutsas, N
Spyridonis, F
Daylamani-Zad, D
Ghinea, G
Issue Date: 5-Jun-2025
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Citation: Droutsas, N. et al. (2025) 'Flower in the Mirror, Moon on the Water: Bridging Perspectives on Alternative Text and Recommendations for Practice', International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 0 (ahead of print), pp. 1 - 21. doi: 10.1080/10447318.2025.2499659.
Abstract: Alternative text (alt text) is one of the most prevalent Web accessibility barriers affecting a wide range of media. Despite manifold efforts addressing its absence, recent work highlighted that unsuitable alt text is equally problematic and is underpinned by a lack of understanding and guidelines on what constitutes suitable alt text. In this work, we present an empirical exploratory study that investigates perceptions of Web content creators and visually impaired users on suitable alt text to bridge the functional gap between experiences and best available practice. Following a qualitative approach, 11 Web content creators and 11 visually impaired users were interviewed, and findings are reported on Web accessibility via screen readers and reasons for its deprioritization, WCAG conformance, and perceptions on alt text authorship, and suitability. The first much-needed trainability and suitability recommendations for alt text suitability are further proposed, and avenues for future work are discussed.
Description: Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, FS, upon reasonable request.
URI: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/31373
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2499659
ISSN: 1044-7318
Other Identifiers: ORCiD: Nikolaos Droutsas https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1418-7542
ORCiD: Fotios Spyridonis https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4253-365X
ORCiD: Damon Daylamani-Zad https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7849-458X
ORCiD: Gheorghita Ghinea https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2578-5580
Appears in Collections:Dept of Computer Science Research Papers
Brunel Design School Research Papers

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