National Violent Death Reporting System

Restricted Access Database Questions & Answers

 

Can anyone have access to the National Violent Death Reporting System Restricted Access Database (NVDRS RAD)?

To qualify as eligible for receipt of NVDRS RAD, investigators-persons primarily responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the released data-must meet all of the following criteria:

• The requesting investigator must have a Ph.D. or M.D.
• The requesting investigator must hold a research position or faculty appointment at his/her institution. Examples of such positions include those who conduct analyses to better understand the causes of violence and potential prevention strategies.
• The requesting investigator's home institution must be a research organization, government agency, or institution of higher education, which can include research foundations or grant-making organizations.
• The requesting investigator must submit a signed copy of approval from his/her home institution's body that is charged with the ethical review and approval of research projects.

 

Regardless of my affiliation, if I agree to abide by confidentiality guidelines, can I access the data to pursue a question about violence prevention?

No. To qualify as eligible for receipt of NVDRS RAD, investigators must meet all of the following criteria:

• The requesting investigator must have a Ph.D. or M.D.
• The requesting investigator must hold a research position or faculty appointment at his/her institution. Examples of such positions include those who conduct analyses to better understand the causes of violence and potential prevention strategies.
• The requesting investigator's home institution must be a research organization, government agency, or institution of higher education, which can include research foundations or grant-making organizations.
• The requesting investigator must submit a signed copy of ethics approval from his/her home institution's approval body that is charged with the ethical reviews of research projects.

 

How do I request access to NVDRS RAD?

RAD requestors must submit a proposal describing the intended use of the data and the measures to be taken to safeguard the data from inappropriate use (see NVDRS RAD Data Release Agreement for more details). All proposals will be reviewed by a scientific panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prospective applicants, investigators, and researchers are encouraged to review thoroughly the NVDRS RAD Data Release Agreement before submitting a proposal.

Does CDC have guidelines or requirements for RAD proposals?

CDC expects that all investigators requesting use of the RAD will adhere to established standards and principles for carrying out analyses and research using sensitive data. To request NVDRS restricted access, case-level microdata, investigators must submit a proposal to the NVDRS Science Officer describing the purpose of the data request, limitations on usage of the data, and other important information. In particular, the research proposal must contain the following:

• Restricted Access Database Data Sharing Agreement [PDF 72KB]
• Restricted Access Database Variables [Word 36kb]
• cover letter;
• project title;
• abstract: approximately 100-300 words summarizing the project;
• full personal identification, institutional affiliation, and mailing addresses;
• names of all other people who will have access to the data;
• source of funding for the proposed project, if applicable;
• background of study:
• key study questions or hypotheses,
• public health benefits - requestors must provide evidence that a legitimate public health purpose will be served by use of the data, and
• summary of the data requirements for the proposed research;
• explanation of why the data are needed;
• methods for the study;
• description of the anticipated products, reports, and publications to be derived from the data analyses; and
• description of mechanisms that will be in place to secure the data, preserve confidentiality, and prevent unauthorized access. These mechanisms can include the data storage plan, limitations on access to the data, technical security practices such as password protection, use of stand-alone computers, encryption, and procedures covering networked computers and servers. At a minimum, the requestor must include with the proposal:
• a completed and signed copy of the NVDRS Data Sharing Agreement,
• proof of the requesting investigator's/researcher's Ph.D. and research affiliation, and
• a signed copy of approval from the body of the requestor's home institution that is charged with the ethical review and approval of research projects.

 

What happens when CDC receives the RAD proposal?

Investigators must submit proposals that include specific information and specific data variables so that CDC staff can easily determine which data elements are required. Upon receipt, a committee will review all proposals to ensure they meet the requirements established to protect the confidentiality of the data. At a minimum, the committee will review applications every quarter. When your application is approved, you will be notified by email and then receive the data on a CD via courier.

What aspects of the application will the review committee examine to assess the appropriateness of the request?

In each application the review committee will look for the following criteria:

• scientific and technical feasibility of the study;
• qualifications of all people who will have access to the data;
• consistency between requested data and study goals;
• description of any additional data that will be linked to NVDRS RAD data;
• anticipated publications or other dissemination of results;
• risk of disclosure of restricted information;
• protections in place to maintain confidentiality of the data, should it be provided; and
• extent to which the proposed project is in accordance with the mission of NVDRS, which is to provide statistical information that gives local, state, and national policy makers and community program developers better information about violent deaths.

 

Who is on the review committee?

The RAD release review committee consists of a panel of scientific and data analysis experts within CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (CDC's Injury Center).

How often will the review committee meet to review proposals?

The committee will meet quarterly at a date and time consistent with the availability of its members.

How long will the proposal review process take?

Upon receipt, a review committee convened for that purpose will evaluate the research proposal. At a minimum, the committee will review applications every quarter. Investigators will be contacted by email within a week after the review is completed. CDC will provide feedback on proposals as quickly as possible, but timelines will be affected by the volume of RAD requests under review. Incomplete applications will be returned upon receipt. In addition, review of overly large and complex projects that require extensive communication between NVDRS staff and the investigators proposing the project will take longer to complete.

Will information from incident narratives be included in the datasets provided to investigators/researchers?

Incident narratives can be provided, when available from the state, and can be included in the list of variables requested.

Will CDC allow investigators to supply their own data to be linked with NVDRS RAD datasets to create merged datasets?

Due to research privacy policies, CDC will not link RAD to other datasets.

Can only the investigator or researcher on the proposal use the RAD?

RAD proposals must have a requesting investigator who meets the established criteria. All investigators who will be accessing the RAD files under the requesting investigator's supervision must be included in the NVDRS RAD proposal submitted to CDC. In addition, to assure confidentiality of the dataset, all investigators on the proposal must sign the "Agreement Regarding Conditions of Access to Confidential Data in the National Violent Death Reporting System."

Are there costs for accessing the NVDRS RAD?

At this time, there are no costs for accessing the RAD.

Are there circumstances when data from the RAD will not be given to investigators?

CDC reserves the right to deny or terminate any project at any time when it deems an investigator's/researcher's actions may compromise confidentiality or ethical standards of behavior in a research environment. Investigators are permitted to conduct only those analyses that have received approval. Failure to comply will result in the cancellation of the research activity and exclusion from future research activities using the RAD.

What happens when investigators are finished with the RAD? How do they dispose of the data?

The agreement requires the applicant to destroy the data after a set period of time and to provide CDC with proof that the data have been destroyed.

What happens if data are leaked or stolen?

At all times during possession of the NVDRS RAD, investigators must ensure that the data security measures described in the project proposal are enforced and maintained. No unauthorized person should be permitted access to the contents of the NVDRS RAD files or to any files derived from the RAD. In the event a data CD is misplaced or stolen, the investigator will notify CDC's Injury Center and cooperate fully with CDC or other investigative staff to recover the data. To avoid inadvertent disclosure, investigators must sign the "Agreement Regarding Conditions of Access to Confidential Data in the National Violent Death Reporting System" and agree to abide by the following guidelines in the use and release of statistics derived from the datasets:

• NVDRS data will be used solely for statistical analyses related to the approved project. The investigator/researcher will not release nor permit others to release any information that identifies individuals, households, schools, and communities, directly or indirectly. In addition, data requests that would allow for identification at the individual level will not be distributed.
• The investigator/researcher agrees that the data will not be used in any research that is not disclosed and approved as part of the project.
• The investigator agrees to refrain from any attempt to link the NVDRS RAD to any other dataset without prior permission from CDC.
• The investigator agrees to retain control over the data and further agrees not to transfer the data-which includes copying, faxing, and emailing-with or without charge, to any other entity or any individual without prior approval from CDC.
• The investigator must ensure that the data security measures described in the project proposal are enforced and maintained at all times during possession of the NVDRS RAD. No unauthorized person should be permitted access to the contents of the NVDRS RAD files or to any files derived from the RAD.
• The investigator will require others who use the data to read and sign the "Agreement Regarding Conditions of Access to Confidential Data in the National Violent Death Reporting System."
• The inadvertent disclosure of potentially identifying information is to be avoided by using the following guidelines for the release of statistics derived from the requested dataset. For any data release format:
• annual counts and rates must be suppressed for cities or counties of less than 100,000 people;
• cells showing or derived from fewer than five deaths must be suppressed, but zero cells may be shown;
• rates are not to be computed for cells containing less than 20 deaths or cases or with a coefficient of variation that is equal to or greater than 23%, based on the assumptions of a Poisson distribution; and
• the disclosed data should never permit identification when used in combination with other known data.

 

What happens if an investigator violates conditions of the data access agreement?

Deliberate violation of any of these conditions will result in cancellation of the data access agreement, and the investigator will be prevented from any future use of NVDRS data. This measure is necessary to protect the integrity and confidentiality of NVDRS and NVDRS data.

What kind of data output will investigators receive if their proposal is approved?

Investigators will receive approved data in CD format and must sign courier documents demonstrating receipt of the data.

Will investigators be given only the variables needed for their specific analysis or the entire file?

Once the proposal is approved, investigators will be given only the variables needed for their specific analysis. This policy allows outside investigators and analysts to conduct independent analyses and research with appropriate protections in place to prevent jeopardizing the confidentiality of NVDRS data.

How should the data from the NVDRS RAD be cited?

Any published material derived from the data should acknowledge NVDRS as the source and should include a disclaimer that credits any analyses, interpretations, or conclusions reached by the investigator, researcher, or author (recipient of the file) as his/hers and not attributed to NVDRS or CDC.

• Suggested disclaimer: This research uses data from NVDRS, a surveillance system designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The findings are based, in part, on the contributions of the 17 funded states that collected violent death data and the contributions of the states' partners, including personnel from law enforcement, vital records, medical examiners/coroners, and crime laboratories. The analyses, results, and conclusions presented here represent those of the authors and not necessarily those of CDC. Persons interested in obtaining data files from NVDRS should contact CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 4770 Buford Hwy, NE, MS F-63, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, (800) CDC-INFO (232-4636).
• Suggested Citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Violent Death Reporting System. [Online]. (2004). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/injury.

 

What happens when an external investigator has completed his/her work using the NVDRS RAD and wishes to publish research results and findings using NVDRS data?

The data investigator must notify CDC in advance as to when and where the publication of a report or other public disclosure from the project will appear. In addition, the investigator agrees to provide CDC a courtesy copy of any manuscript or other public disclosure document in advance of its publication or release.

Do investigators need to provide status reports on studies involving NVDRS RAD data?

Status reports are not required unless data are compromised, cases are identified, or the investigator desires to use the data in ways not approved in the original proposal. The desire to use data in an unapproved manner may require the resubmission of a proposal. Requests for more information from NVDRS or for specific data files should be directed to:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
Division of Violence Prevention
Etiology and Surveillance Branch
NVDRS Science Officer
4770 Buford Hwy, NE
MS F-64
Atlanta, GA 30341-3717
(800) CDC-INFO (232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348
FAX: (770) 488-4760