Data Access Application Instructions

Access to the CRITICAL dataset is a three-step process.

1. Establish an Institutional Agreement

To access the data, your institution must first sign and submit an [Institutional Data Use Agreement (DUA)](tbd: can use placeholder document for now – will be pdf or docx). The DUA must be signed by officials from a central university office with the authority to execute the agreement on behalf of the university, not by an individual faculty or staff member seeking access to the data themselves. You can see the list of institutions with established DUAs [here].

U.S. accredited universities who are capable of complying with the [CRITICAL Consortium’s Data Use Agreement](link to document) are eligible to apply for access for full-time faculty, students, and staff.

In addition to signing and submitting the DUA, each institution must designate two or more officials who will review applications to access the CRITICAL data from individuals affiliated with their institution. The institutional representatives will verify the individual applicant’s status and that they have received appropriate training for working with human research data.

[Check if your institution is already approved]

[Link: Download the Institutional Data Use Agreement (DUA)]

[Create account]

2. Apply for Individual Access

Once your institution has an approved DUA in place ([check here]), you may apply for access to the data. Your application will be reviewed by your institutional representative to verify your status with the university.

To access the data, you need to have completed training on protecting sensitive human research data through your university.

Each member of a research team or class must apply for individual access. You may not share the data with others who have not applied and been approved for access.

You will be asked to attest to the following when applying for access:

If I am granted access to the database:

1. I will not attempt to identify or publicly disclose any individual or institution referenced in CRITICAL data.

2. I will exercise all reasonable and prudent care to avoid disclosure of the identity of any individual or institution referenced in CRITICAL data in any publication or other communication.

3. I will not share access to CRITICAL data with anyone else.

4. I will exercise all reasonable and prudent care to maintain the physical and electronic security of CRITICAL data.

5. If I find information within CRITICAL data that I believe might permit identification of any individual or institution, I will not publicly disclose this information but report the location of this information promptly by email to critical@northwestern.edu, citing the location of the specific information in question.

6. I have requested access to CRITICAL data for the sole purpose of lawful use in scientific research and/or education, and I will use my privilege of access, if it is granted, for this purpose and no other.

7. I have completed a training program in human research subject protections.

8. I will indicate the general purpose for which I intend to use the data in my application.

9. If I openly disseminate my results, I will also contribute the code used to produce those results to a repository that is open to the research community.

10. If I submit to a publication that requires data sharing, I will not share any portion of raw or derived form of CRITICAL data. Instead, I will point to the official CRITICAL website for proper data access, along with sharing my code for data wrangling.

11. This agreement may be terminated by either party at any time, but my obligations with respect to CRITICAL data shall continue after termination.

The amount of time your application will take to process depends on how quickly your institutional representatives review your application. The CRITICAL team cannot expedite this process.

You need an ORCID account to submit a data access application. You can create an ORCID account for free on the ORCID website if you do not already have one.

[Apply for individual data access]

3. Download the Data

If your application to access the data is approved by your institutional representative, then you will be sent an email with instructions to download the data via Globus . Access will be granted to the ORCID account you use to sign in to this website; if you have an existing Globus account with your institution, you can link your ORCID account to your institutional account in Globus. You will have access to download the data for 30 days.

You can transfer the data to another Globus collection at your institution, or use Globus Connect Personal to download the files to your laptop or computer.

• • • General Globus data transfer instructions
    • Globus Connect Personal (for transferring files to your computer)

The data must be stored in a secure location. It may not be posted publicly or shared directly with others who do not have an approved data access application.