Thank you for visiting the ResearchDataGov.org website. Please note that we collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide that information to us as described in the Personally Provided Information section below.

Information Automatically Collected and Stored

When you browse through any website, certain personal information about you can be collected. We automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  • The IP address of the computer you used to access our website (for example, 141.211.92.1). This IP address is often translated into a domain name, such as stanford.edu, if you are connecting from Stanford University's domain.
  • Geographic coordinates based upon your IP address. These coordinates usually describe the location of your provider (such as Stanford University) rather than the actual location of your computer.
  • The date and time of your visit
  • The pages you visited
  • The address of the website you came from when you visited our site
  • The operating system of your computer
  • The version and type of Web browser you use when you visit our website

We use this information to create summary information about our users and to help us make our site more valuable to users. Unless it is specifically stated otherwise, no additional information will be collected about you.

Personally Provided Information

If you choose to begin an application to request access to confidential data through ResearchDataGov.org, you will be asked to provide us with additional identifying information as part of the application process.

When you begin an application to request access to confidential data, you will be asked to provide identifying information at two points in the process.

MyData Account

ResearchDataGov.org was built leveraging the infrastructure of ICPSR and therefore uses their login system. If you do not already have one, you will be asked to create an ICPSR MyData account by entering the following information:

  • Email address
  • User-provided MyData password
  • Name
  • Organizational affiliation (college/university faculty, research organization, etc.)
  • Department or field with which you identify

If you are at an ICPSR member institution, you will also be asked whether name and email address can be shared with your campus’ official ICPSR representative. You will be asked to log in with this account whenever you wish to begin, edit, or review an application and associated reviewer comments. On ResearchDataGov.org, your MyData account is used only to associate you with any project proposals you have started and/or submitted. If you represent one of the participating federal agencies in an official capacity on ResearchDataGov.org, such as a reviewer or a metadata editor, the account will be used to associate you with the permissions afforded those roles.

Application Form

If you wish to use data described on ResearchDataGov.org in a research project, you will be asked to complete an application in order to gain access to the restricted-use microdata. The application includes the following information:

  • Name, affiliation, and position of each member of the project team
  • Specific information about the proposed project, such as title, description, research questions, methodology, sources of funding, and expected outputs
  • Administrative information including from where you wish to access the data, special software requirements, justification for data request, and a list and description of any data you will be providing to be used with the requested data.
  • A description of the benefits to the agency(ies) providing access to the data

The information collected in the application form will be used by the agencies owning the data to determine whether the project may proceed with the requested data.

Disclosure

Applicant information and research proposal information for approved applications will be made publicly available through the ResearchDataGov.org in accordance with the standards for transparency requirement of the Evidence Act (§3583(a)(6)).

Intrusion Detection

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, we employ software programs to monitor traffic and to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or to otherwise cause damage. In the event of authorized law enforcement investigations, and pursuant to any required legal process, information from these sources may be used to help identify an individual.