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<\/h2>\n“Unlock the Access”<\/p>\n
Accessible formats enable equality of access and means that your research has the potential to be unlocked by a wider audience. It can mean that no extra provision needs to be made for teaching as it’s already available in an accessible format.\u00a0 It could lead to your research having greater impact and, because its discoverable in key platforms, also supports the Open Access<\/a> ethos.<\/p>\n Follow these simple steps to help maximise your impact by maximising your audience.<\/p>\n Text that is selectable and accessible to other applications<\/a>\u00a0adds significant value to users relying on a wide range of support tools from referencing software to text-to-speech and screen readers.<\/p>\n Use\u00a0SensusAccess<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to convert text formats.<\/p>\n Navigable headings, sub-headings and bookmarks benefit all users, especially people with print impairments. Content can be rapidly skimmed. Hierarchies of ideas can be more readily assimilated.<\/p>\n This aids those reading on small screens, people with visual impairments or people reading for different purposes (eg low magnification for skimming .versus. higher magnification for close reading).<\/p>\n If images have no alt tag, screen reader software will automatically read the file name. This is distracting and confusing.\u00a0 If you can give a ‘null alt tag’ (alt=””) the screen reader remains silent. This is helpful for ‘eye candy images but makes other more meaningful images invisible to the screen reader user. We advise that, as a minimum, significant images should have a simple alternative text descriptions (alt tags)<\/a> to act as a signpost to content they might otherwise miss.<\/p>\n Video and audio content that lacks text alternatives creates barriers for all users. It can be difficult to navigate to specific information, to have confidence about the spelling of key content or to quote content accurately and efficiently. It can create particular barriers for readers with sensory impairments.<\/p>\n Accessible formats doesn’t just apply to documents of course and we know that you’ll plan to disseminate your research in different ways.\u00a0 You may be planning to record a video or podcast, or speak at an event, and there are things you can do to help maximise your reach.\u00a0 We’ll cover this in a future blog but if you would like find out more about this please contact us at osc@kent.ac.uk<\/strong><\/p>\n1. Make sure the text is accessible to other platforms<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\u00a02. Structure your text with style sheets\/semantic tags<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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3. Ensure text can be personalised and reflow when magnified<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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4. Use short image descriptions known as alt-tags<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\u00a05. Give preference to multimedia with captions, transcripts and\/or audio descriptions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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