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Public Datasets and Data Use Agreements

Restricted Datasets

If you are faculty or staff working with a restricted dataset that requires a data use agreement please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at osp@utk.edu for assistance reviewing and signing the agreement. You should not sign a data use agreement without consultation by the Office of Sponsored Programs. It is the policy of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville that the university will not review or sign a data use agreement on behalf of students. If you are a student who wishes to enter into a data use agreement for a restricted dataset, contact us and we will provide guidance.

Public Use Datasets

Public Use Datasets are data files prepared by investigators or data suppliers with the intent of making them available for public use. The data available to the public are not individually identified or maintained in a readily identifiable form.

The following list of public use data sets has been reviewed by the IRB with the intent of making these data files available for use with no further review by the UTK IRB necessary, as long as the following criteria are met:

  • Research will not involve any merging of any of the data sets in such a way that individuals might be identified, and
  • The researcher will not enhance the public data sets with identifiable, or potentially identifiable data.

IRB Review is required in the following cases:

  • If investigators will merge or enhance data sets in such a way that individuals might be identified
  • If the dataset is restricted use or if submission of a proposal to the data owner is required.
  • If the investigator will seek to obtain additional information from the database owner.
  • If a data use agreement is involved.

Investigators who wish to have additional data sets added to the inventory may submit to the IRB for review a Public Data Set Nomination Form. If the IRB finds upon review that the additional data set meets the established criteria, it will be added to the inventory.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville Inventory of Public Use Data Sets

Users of public use data sets do not need to submit an IRB application to use such files or seek a determination that the use of the public data files meets the criteria for being exempt from IRB review.

Site of Data Data Set(s)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
American College of Surgeons (ACS)
American National Election Studies, Stanford University and University of Michigan http://www.electionstudies.org/
Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research AP-NORC Data Registery (https://apnorc.org/download-data/)
Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Use data sets only, IRB approval required for restricted and geo-coded/zip code data sets

  • National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97)
  • National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79)
  • NLSY79 Children and Young Adults
  • National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women and Mature Women (NLSW)
  • National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men and Older Men
  • American Time Use Survey (ATUS)
California Health and Human Services Open Data Portal All public use files at this site may be used.

NOTE: Restricted data sets at the CA Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) require IRB review.

California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Home Health Agency and Hospice Facility Annual Utilization Data
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention including the National Center for Health Statistics Public data sets including but not limited to the following:

China Census Datasets
log in via UT Libraries
A collection of zipped census datasets
China Data Online, University of Michigan
log in via UT Libraries
A collection of statistics about China
The Commonwealth Fund Survey of Older Americans 2004
Cornell University Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER)
Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)
Data-Planet Statistical Datasets
log in via UT Libraries
Duke University and National Institute on aging National Long-Term Care Survey
Economic Research Service (ERS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)
European University Institute German Socio-Economic Panel Survey (G-SOEP)
Federal Reserve System Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF)
FINRA Investor Education Foundation National FInancial Capability Study
Health Resources & Services Administration Area Health Resources Files
Healthy Minds Network Healthy Minds Study 
Note: Restricted data sets require IRB review
HIV Prevention Trials Network Vaccine Preparedness Study/Uninfected Protocol Cohort
International City/County Management Association log in via UT Libraries ICMA Datasets
International Country Risk Guide log in via UT Libraries ICRG Table 3B Political Stability Data
International Terrorism log in via UT Libraries Attributes of Terrorist Events (ITERATE) 1968-2010
ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Science Research) University of Michigan log in via UT Libraries All ICPSR Public Use Data Sets may be used.

Submit an IRB application to use Restricted Data Sets.

Medicare Hospice Compare Data Set Provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, these data allow you to compare the quality of care provided by Medicare-certified hospice agencies throughout the nation. https://data.medicare.gov/
Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, International https://international.ipums.org/international/
Murray Research Archive, Harvard University http://www.murray.harvard.edu/
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture and other data collected and distributed by NASS http://www.nass.usda.gov/
National Alliance for Caregiving All public use files at this site
National Cancer Institute (NIH) Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) http://hints.cancer.gov/
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) http://www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/medical-conditions/sports-injuries
National Health and Aging Trends Study Public Use Files may be used

NOTE: NSOC & Other Sensitive Files, and Restricted File, require IRB review

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/series/233
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
ORNL and U. S. Department of Energy Land Scan Datasets log in via UT Libraries The LandScan Global Archive includes all of the historical datasets of the LandScan Global Population Database back to the year 2000.
Perceptual Robotics Lab (PeRL) at the University of Michigan Ford Campus Vision and Lidar Data Set
Pew Research Center Survey of Multiracial Adults
RavenPack RavenPack News Analytics 4.0 www.ravenpack.com/products
Research Data Assistance Center, University of Minnesota Medicare Healthcare Cost Report Information System (HCRIS) http://www.resdac.org/cms-data/files/hcris
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research log in via UT Libraries
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Childhood Cancer Survivor Study https://ccss.stjude.org/
Social Explorer log in via UT Libraries
Social Science Electronic Data Library (SSEDL) log in via UT Libraries Library of data files from eight topically-based health and social science collections
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) The SAMHDA site, presented by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), offers easy access to substance use and mental health data for analyses.
UK Data Service, University of Essex and University of Manchester National Child Development Study http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/series/?sn=2000032
United Nations Statistics Division UNdata
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) California Health Interview Survey (public use data files only)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) Social Science Data Archives
University of Essex Institute for Social and Economic Research British Household Panel Survey
University of Michigan Institute for Social Research Health and Retirement Study Survey of Consumers (SCA)
University of Michigan National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent Vital Elderly, 1999-2001 (ACTIVE), public data only. Apply through IRB to use restricted sets.
University of Minnesota FINBIN places detailed reports on whole farm, crop, and livestock financials at your fingertips.
U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey
University of Washington National Institute on Aging National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center
University of Wisconsin Data and Information Services Center Better Access to Data for Global Interdisciplinary Research BADGIR
University of Wisconsin Institute on Aging Midlife in the United States (MIDUS)
US Agency for International Development Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) http://www.dhsprogram.com/
US Department of Agriculture Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=14392
US Census Bureau National Survey of Children’s Health (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/nsch/data/datasets.2022.html)
US Census Bureau Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS)

(https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/microdata.html)

US Department of Commerce US Census Bureau U. S. Foreign Trade Data log in via UT Libraries
US Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/
US Department of Health and Human Services Hospital Compare

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

US Department of Justice National Crime Victimization Survey School Crime Supplements
Vanderbilt University Latin American Public Opinion Project
Washington State Department of Health Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS; public data only)
World Bank World Development Indicators, Global Development Finance, and additional statistical data files from the World Bank
World Health Organization Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) www.who.int/chp/gshs/en