Data Publishing Timeline
ICPSR helps the research community by making research data easy to use for others. This involves a team effort to handle sensitive data responsibly and ensure the data can be used without needing to consult the original researchers. ICPSR works closely with data producers to accomplish the steps outlined on this page.
These steps describe what happens for data that ICPSR curates. If you choose to self-publish, you will create the record for your data and the data and any documentation will be available immediately upon your clicking “publish.” A persistent identifier (DOI) will also be generated at that point.
Pre-Deposit Consultation and Deposit Assistance – Prior to deposit, data producers may wish to discuss their needs with ICPSR. We’ll explain the process, including what to expect and what you’ll need—like documentation, questionnaires, preparing your data for submission, and navigating the online deposit form. If your data contain sensitive information, we’ll discuss dissemination options for sharing and any necessary restricted-use data agreements.
Many factors contribute to how much time it takes for data to be ready for deposit, even after data collection is complete.
If you choose to self-publish the study rather than using ICPSR’s curation services, your data will become available immediately. Otherwise, ICPSR completes an initial review of your deposit to determine whether there are disclosure concerns with the data and to evaluate the completeness and condition of the data. The length of the review will depend on how complicated the data are, but is typically completed within a month once the review has begun.
Following initial review and throughout the process, if we need more information about the datafiles or documentation you’ve shared data, we will reach out to you.
During this step, we prepare the data for release on our site and fully describe it in a structured way (metadata) so the data are discoverable. In general, larger datasets with multiple files will take longer to curate than smaller datasets. To learn more about data curation, check out ICPSR 101: What is Data Curation? and ICPSR 101: ICPSR’s 3 Levels of Data Curation.
For curated studies, ICPSR releases the study and its documentation, performs post-release checks, and announces the release. You are notified via email when your data are released and a link to those data is provided in the email.
For self-published studies, data and documentation are published immediately by the depositor. No checks or additional action is taken by ICPSR.
After release, ICPSR provides technical support and restricted data applicant support, and processes and monitors restricted-use applications. For studies that have been curated, ICPSR can also assist with performing study updates and incorporating data resupplies as needed.