Research Data Center (RDC)

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) developed the Research Data Centers (RDC) to allow researchers access to restricted data. Today, in addition to providing access to NCHS data, the RDC also hosts restricted data from a variety of groups within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The RDC is responsible for protecting the confidentiality of survey respondents, study subjects, or institutions from which data were collected. In order to do this, we request all researchers submit a research proposal outlining the need for this more sensitive data. The proposal provides a framework for us to identify potential disclosure risk. Once approved, we work with you to create a data file specific to your research question. We cannot send you the dataset, but we offer several modes of access.

1. Preparing for Proposal Submission
   1. Restricted Data
   2. Access Modes
   3. The Proposal Process
2. Accessing Restricted Data
   1. Confidentiality
   2. Approved Projects: Next Steps
   3. Publishing Guidelines