Depositor Guidelines for Sharing Accessible Study Materials using ICPSR

Beginning in April 2026, state and local government entities must ensure their websites, applications and digital content comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA (WCAG 2.1). This means digital content, including documents, content, and websites, must be accessible to people with disabilities. ICPSR, based at the University of Michigan, is subject to these requirements.

As a depositor of data and documentation or other content into ICPSR’s repositories, these requirements may impact your deposit.

Determine your Deposit Type

Self-publish Deposit

These are data and related materials deposited directly into ICPSR’s repositories and are immediately available to the public for download (sharing). The content is not curated or reviewed by ICPSR staff and often include replication data sets, raw data, or code associated with a journal article so that other researchers can replicate their findings, or data from research activities that may not be suitable for professional curation.

Researchers who self-publish in ICPSR’s repositories must ensure their study materials meet accessibility requirements according to the New Rule on the Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments. Researchers (depositors) must attest during the deposit process that the content meets accessibility standards:

For ICPSR to archive and distribute these deposited materials, we require self-publishing depositors to attest that their digital materials meet current accessibility standards as outlined by ADA Title II regulations.

Deposits for ICPSR Professional Curation

After deposit, ICPSR and its sponsored projects review and professionally curate these data and documentation files prior to sharing. While depositors are not required to submit compliant documents, ICPSR strongly recommends all depositors follow this guide to make study materials accessible, reusable, and preservable as part of the process to Prepare Your Data for Deposit with ICPSR, as this may speed the process of curation.

Create Accessible Document/File Types for Your Deposit

How to Use This Guide

  1. Identify your content type (e.g.,PDF, Word, HTML, audio, video, etc.).
  2. Follow the general accessibility checklist.
  3. Review format-specific guidelines for accessibility compliance.
  4. Use recommended resources, including those from your institution, to enhance the accessibility of your study materials.

To improve data accessibility, provide alternate versions: save your data in your preferred software (e.g., SPSS, Stata, SAS, R, Excel) and also in ASCII or delimited formats (e.g., txt, csv, etc.) so users can choose what works for them.

General Checklist

  • Use clear, descriptive file names (e.g., 2024-report-data.csv) with only alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores — no spaces, all lowercase.
  • Start with a descriptive header row for columns .
  • Avoid non-standard characters (like periods) in variable names.
  • Provide detailed, unique variable and value labels.
  • Clearly label values for missing data.
  • Avoid merged cells, nested tables, or complex layouts.
  • Properly escape or enclose special characters in double quotes within data fields.
  • Keep data plain and free of extra formatting.
  • Use UTF-8 encoding for ASCII text files; do NOT use spaces or tabs to align delimited data.

More Resources

General Checklist

  • Use clear, hierarchical headings (H1, H2, etc.) when applicable.
  • Choose legible fonts and sizes (at least 12pt, sans serif font).
  • Ensure color passes accessibility and text meets WCAG color contrast ratios. (Use the WebAim Color Contrast Checker)
  • Ensure compatibility with screen readers and text-to-speech tools.
  • Structure content with properly formatted lists.
  • Use simple tables only for tabular data, not for visual design.
  • Create links with short, unique, descriptive text
  • Add alternative text to images (e.g., data visualizations and other images).
  • Include accessible metadata (title, author) to your document properties and use proper headings (headings, lists, etc.) and tagging.

Example Format Types & Use Cases

  • PDF/A: used for archiving official documents with preserved formatting
  • UTF-8: used for encoding of plain text files for multilingual web content across diverse systems to ensure special characters and non-English characters are displayed correctly by screen readers
  • SGML: used for detailed markup in technical manuals and publications
  • Additional formats (e.g., XML, JSON, HTML, TeX/LaTeX, Postscript (.ps), Rich Text (.rtf), or other plain text encodings): consider providing these files in addition to an alternate conforming version by converting to PDF and/or Plain Text format and sharing both file versions.

More Resources

General Checklist

  • Provide alt-text or mark as decorative for all images
  • Add captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for recorded media.
  • Review colors for contrast (i.e., images can be seen against the backgrounds.
  • Avoid embedding text within images; use accessible HTML text instead.
  • Label images clearly and avoid generic image names (e.g., “Image1”).
  • Ensure audio is clear and audible.
  • Test audio content with screen readers to ensure compatibility.
  • Avoid blinking or flashing content.
  • Do not use autoplay for videos or audio.

Example Format Types & Use Cases

  • JPEG: used for efficiently sharing photographs with complex color gradients
    • Ensure compression levels preserve necessary details for accessibility and test for clarity, especially for critical image details.
  • TIFF: used for preserving high-quality images in professional and archival settings.
    • Consider reducing file size to improve page load times, especially for users with slower internet connections.
  • AIFF: used for high-quality audio editing and archival purposes.
  • Wave: used for professional recordings requiring maximum fidelity.

More Resources

Data Visualizations & Other Images:

Audio & Video: