Frequently Asked Questions

Data Questions

When in the process do ICPSR resources for ensuring data standards become available to PCORI awardees?

How should I submit my Data Contributor Agreement?

  • Please email the agreement to icpsr-help@umich.edu after it has been reviewed by your legal team and redlined or signed. Please put the archive name (PCODR) in the subject of your message.

How should I format my SAS datafile(s)?

  • The Curation unit is recommending that depositors submit SAS data with the formats applied to best aid secondary users. Depositors should submit the formatted data, the format library, and any proc format code they may have. This allows for troubleshooting the formatted data as necessary. We are unable to open data files in 32-bit SAS; ICPSR runs 64-bit SAS.

What is done with my analytic code after it has been submitted to PCODR?

  • Analytic code should be annotated to best aid secondary users. Curation will check the code for any disclosive information that may exist in the comments (if present), and release the code as text documents. It is at the discretion of the depositor to run their code in a clean environment to ensure the package is reproducible. For best practices on analytic code preparation and writing comments, visit CISER’s Reproduction Materials Review Recommendations (Part III. Code), the TIER Protocol 3.0, and the American Economic Association’s guidance on Preparing Your Files for Verification.

Where can I find information on how frequently the study data are being requested?

  • Approved requests will become available on the PCODR website. The public will have access to the number of requests per study, as well as how many requests have been approved. Additionally, while the datasets are only accessible through the VDE, the documentation files are available freely and openly on each study homepage. Site visitors are able to access documentation files at any time, as well as usage metrics on how often files are downloaded and by how many users.

My data needs to be updated. What should I do?

  • In the case of re-supply, researchers would follow the same steps followed during the original upload to the secure online form. However, for the question “Is this deposit related to an existing ICPSR data collection?” the researcher should select “Yes” and enter in the study name/number. Any users analyzing the current version of the data will gain access to the most updated version. As a social sciences archive, ICPSR is committed to retaining all versions of data.

Policy Questions

Is the Policy for Data Management and Data Sharing applicable to qualitative data?

  • The dataset should include all PCORI funded aims included in the Final Research Report, which may include qualitative data. Situations may occur where it is not appropriate to deposit the qualitative data but instead describe it robustly on the study homepage, and direct secondary-users to the PI for specific questions. In initial conversations with PCORI and ICPSR staff, considerations for de-identifying the qualitative data will be made.

How does the Policy for Data Management and Data Sharing apply to sensitive data?

  • Only de-identified data is deposited in PCODR, and the policy includes prohibitions against re-identification that are codified in the data use agreement. Additionally, PCORI and ICPSR have put protections in place to address privacy and security concerns. The data as well as the analysis of the data will be stored and conducted within the secure Virtual Data Enclave (VDE). ICPSR has over a 60 years’ experience of keeping data secure and addressing privacy concerns while still providing access to data with varying levels of restriction.

How many years will the data be available after the contract between the investigator(s) and PCORI has ended?

  • The policy articulates a 7-year expectation for awardees. If there is sustained interest in a particular PCORI-funded dataset, this time period may be extended.

Will the data sharing with PCORI be in the consent form? Would this policy change if a study uses implied consent or received a waiver of consent? 

  • Concerns regarding consent will be discussed early on in the project with PCORI and respective program officers. If needed, PCORI can provide template language that permits depositing in a repository and sharing with researchers not part of the research team.