High value, high risk: Options for restricted data dissemination at ICPSR

As the body of social science research data grows, so does interest in obtaining data for replication and secondary analysis purposes. Research data involving individuals tend to be highly disclosive and often sensitive. Traditional methods of coarsening, truncating, or otherwise altering the data for public consumption limits both the utility of the study and the impact of the initial investment. There is growing interest in establishing innovative ways of sharing research data in its fullest form while minimizing disclosure risk and honoring confidentiality assurances given to research subjects. ICPSR employs three main methods of restricted data dissemination, and this poster will highlight these methods and demonstrate the features of the newest method, the ICPSR Virtual Data Enclave (VDE)-- a virtual computing environment offering full access to disclosed and sensitive restricted data that never leave ICPSR servers.