Accessing Data

You can browse or search the Data catalogue without prior registration. If you are interested in the secondary analysis of one or multiple datasets in the collection, please contact us. You will then be asked to sign an agreement about data use with the Observatory. We can also help you with any questions you may have about the projects and the terms and conditions of data access. Access to the data is free of charge for non-commercial research use, but is subject to several terms and conditions. Although most conditions are equal for all the data sets in the collection (e.g., researchers are not allowed to pass the data to third parties, they are expected to properly cite the original investigators, and to respect the anonymity of the data), some conditions of data access vary across data sets. For example, if the original investigators are still publishing about the data, they may require a written proposal from the researchers so they can check for overlapping research questions. Others may ask to see documents prior to publication. If the original investigators wish so, they are informed if researchers wish to access their data. If you decide to request access to the data, you will receive an agreement about the conditions of use. Once you have signed and returned the agreement, you will be granted access to a secure intranet via My account where you will be able to download the requested data and documentation and where you will have access to supportive software. For any questions about this procedure or about the data in general, please contact the Observatory.