La editorial de revistas científicas Frontiers publica los artículos con texto alternativo en las imágenes. Si el autor no proporciona un texto alternativo, se emplea la inteligencia artificial para generar uno de forma automática.
En la guía para autores de Frontiers podemos leer la explicación Alternative text (alt text):
As part of our commitment to make science open for all, we are dedicated to accessibility in our publications. One way you can make your manuscript more accessible is by including alternative text (alt text) with all figures or images.
What is alt text?
Alt text is a short visual description of the contents of an image. Alt text is not the same as a caption, as it provides a description of the entire image. It is included in the manuscript alongside the image, but in the background, not visible on the page.
Good alt text will be specific, concise, and not overly descriptive. It should include any essential text or data that appears on the image and would be lost if a user couldn't see it.
See Harvard University's guide for more tips on writing good alt text.
Why is alt text important?
It allows people using screen reading technology to clearly understand the contents of an image, therefore making your manuscript more accessible for readers with visual impairments. This is also useful for anyone else who can't view the image - if it doesn't load quickly, for instance .
Alt text can also provide better descriptions to search engine crawlers, helping with article discoverability and indexing.
For more support, our partner AuthorMate offers an alt-text writing service.
