Data Access

Three waves of the neighborhood survey data and baseline countywide RDD survey data for Denver, Des Moines, Louisville, Indianapolis, Providence, San Antonio, and White Center (Seattle) are currently available to researchers through NORC’s data enclave. Two waves of the neighborhood survey data and baseline countywide RDD survey data are available for Milwaukee, Oakland, and Hartford. The Annie E. Casey Foundation invites research professionals and advanced graduate students to apply for access to the Making Connections data. Please note that applicants must be affiliated with an institution that is overseen by an institutional review board (IRB).

The application process involves three steps:

  1. Submit a Data Access Application to the Annie E Casey Foundation.

    It is found here:

    MC Data Access Application 03.04.11.pdf

  2. Apply for non-exempt approval from your institution's Institutional Review Board (IRB).

    After the Annie E. Casey Foundation has reviewed and approved your application, you must obtain a non-exempt certificate of approval from your institution's IRB in order to gain access to the Making Connections data and before continuing to Step 3. You may request an expedited review at your discretion, but do not request an exemption.

  3. Submit an application to NORC’s Data Enclave.

    After securing a certificate of approval from your institution's IRB, NORC will work with you to gain access to the data in the NORC Data Enclave. The NORC Data Enclave provides a secure platform where researchers may collaborate with others using the same datasets and that features discussion forums, wikis, blogs, and instant messaging (IM). These environments facilitate collaboration amongst geographically dispersed researchers, facilitating the sharing of information and develop a knowledge infrastructure around the data. Information about NORC’s Data Enclave may be found here:

    https://www.norc.org/DataEnclave

    You will be asked to complete three forms:

    • Data User Profile (DUP)
    • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
    • Data User Agreement (DUA)

    Please contact Tim Mulcahy at Mulcahy-Tim@norc.org to obtain these forms and/or get further information about Step 3.

If you have questions about the application process, please contact the NORC staff at MakingConnections@norc.uchicago.edu.