NCHS RDC
The National Center for Health Statistics manages several RDC sites:
- Hyattsville, MD (DC-metropolitan area) at NCHS headquarters
- Atlanta, GA at the CDC Corporate Square
- Rockville, MD at the Agency for Healthcare and Research & Quality
Statistical Software
The NCHS RDC workstations are equipped with:
- Microsoft Office products
- SAS
- Stata
- SAS-callable SUDAAN
- R
- Python
- SPSS*
*The NCHS RDC only has SPSS version 19; the NCHS RDC has no current plans to upgrade SPSS to a new version*
If you would like to use a different software product or add-ons, there may be a delay in approval and/or access. Due to disclosure concerns not all software and add-ons are allowed.
Before Your Visit
- Schedule your appointment: The RDC is open to researchers by appointment during business hours. Researchers must be monitored by RDC staff when working in the RDC. Please schedule your appointment at least one week in advance to ensure we are able to accommodate your request.
- Only one researcher is assigned to a workstation at a time. Visits exceeding 5 days in a 90-day period may require a background check. Please let your RDC Analyst know if this is a possibility.
- Email your statistical programming code and reference documentation (codebooks, statistical reference materials, etc.) to your RDC Analyst 5 business days in advance of your scheduled visit. RDC computers do not have access to the Internet and the RDC does not allow the researcher to load files onto the RDC computers. We discourage the use of hard copies and books in the RDC labs. Therefore, all documents must be emailed at least 2 business days before your visit. The RDC Analyst will review the documents and upload them to the computer.
Rules
- If you have multiple research projects, you are only allowed to work on one at a time. Do not attempt to access multiple projects or data from multiple projects at the same time.
- All codes, output, and notes must undergo disclosure review by RDC Analyst before removal from the RDC. Absolutely no individual level data will leave the RDC facilities. See Output Policies and Procedures.
- The RDC reserves the right to search all materials brought into or leaving the RDC facility. Cell phones, pagers, laptops, cameras or other electronic communication devices are not permitted in the RDC.
- Do not bring items into the RDC that may enable you to identify individuals and/or establishments (e.g. a national hospital directory, information from voter registration). Do not attempt to put any content or output in your code that would facilitate re-identification of a subject/establishment.
- Any attempt to obtain prohibited information (e.g. items that would not pass disclosure review) will result in an immediate suspension of the account and possible legal actions.