Projects Involving Publicly Available Secondary Data

Keuka College Institutional Review Board

Statement on Secondary Data Projects &

Analysis of De-Identified, Publicly Available Data

(October 2020)


The IRB realizes that some research involving existing data sets and archives may not meet the definition of human subjects’ research and therefore would not require IRB review; however some may meet definitions of research and may require IRB review and approval.

The IRB recognizes that the analysis of de-identified, publicly available data does not constitute human subjects research as defined at 45 CFR 46.102 and that it does not require IRB review. Many studies utilize data made available through large data consolidation bureaus and consortiums. To reduce burdens on investigators, the IRB maintains a list of data holders whose archives include only publicly available, de-identified data.

Analysis of publicly available data retrieved from the following data sources does not require IRB review:

Note: If you are planning research using a de-identified public data not listed below and are uncertain if your project requires IRB approval, please use the IRB process for determining IRB purview .


  • Chicago Health Atlas

You can use the Chicago Health Atlas to explore these topics by age, gender, race-ethnicity and economic hardship. You can also see trends over time and even map the data to see differences across communities.https://www.chicagohealthatlas.org/indicators


  • Data2GoNYC

Collection of federal, state, and city data on a broad range of issues critical to the well-being of all New Yorkers. The website includes over 300 indicators for New York City’s 59 community districts—and 150 of these indicators are also available by census tract. Many of these indicators were previously unavailable to the public.https://data2go.nyc/


  • Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics (1985-2018)

Lets users access data on juvenile court processing of more than 40 million delinquency cases, including information on the age, sex, and race of juveniles involved, the use of detention, adjudication and disposition. This data analysis tool also includes pre-formatted tables describing the demographic characteristics of youth involved in the juvenile justice system and how juvenile courts process these cases. https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezajcs/


  • ESRI’s GIS for Racial Equity

Esri’s Racial Equity GIS Hub is an ongoing, continuously expanding resource hub to assist organizations working to address racial inequities. The Racial Equity GIS Hub includes data layers, maps, applications, training resources, articles on best practices, solutions, and examples of how Esri users from around the world are leveraging GIS to address racial inequities. https://gis-for-racialequity.hub.arcgis.com/


  • Explore the US Census

Gather information and data on a topic of your choice! You’d be surprised what you will find!

https://data.census.gov/cedsci/


  • FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Reports

Provides access to more than thirty years of national and state data on homicide victims and known homicide offenders, including information on the age, sex, and race of victims and offenders, the victim-offender relationship, and the type of weapon used.

https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr/


  • Gallup Poll

Access secondary data and review research reports on results from Gallup Poll surveys on a variety of social, political, legal, economic, and issues and current topics. https://news.gallup.com/home.aspx


  • Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)

Data holdings contain some 6,000 studies and 450,000 files that cover a wide range of social science areas such as economics, crime, health, aging, social and political attitudes, social and political behavior, population, history, and substance abuse. https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/


  • Measures of America: Mapping America

A tool to understand well-being in America. Select a category of well-being, a specific location and a population segment, and see the results visually mapped.http://measureofamerica.org/maps/


  • National Center for Education Statistics Data Tools

Extensive collection of national and international data sets and online interactive data analysis tools. Access to data on a range of topics, including student performance, school discipline, graduation rates, and more. The DataLab tool (one of the tools listed on the web page linked below) is an online table and regression maker tool featuring 30+ federal education datasets. contains three powerful tools for your analytical needs: QuickStats – Allows novice users to create simple tables and charts; PowerStats, which allows researchers to create complex tables and logistic and linear regressions; and TrendStats, which allows researchers to create complex tables spanning multiple data collection years. Also, contains the Tables Library which houses 5000+ published analysis tables by topic, publication, and sourc https://nces.ed.gov/datatools/


  • National Center for Health Statistics

National online database that provides access to data and interactive tools for analyzing topics including but not limited to family life, health care and health care services, mental health, injury, life stages and population, and diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm


  • American National Election Studies Data Center

Contains data from 65 variables two nation-wide surveys.https://electionstudies.org/data-center/


  • National Incidence Study of Child Abuse & Neglect (NIS-4)

The National Incidence Study (NIS) design assumes that the maltreated children who are investigated by child protective services (CPS) represent only the “tip of the iceberg.” Although the NIS estimates include children investigated by CPS, they also include maltreated children who are identified by professionals in a wide range of agencies in representative communities. These professionals, called “sentinels,” are asked to remain on the lookout for children they believe are maltreated during the study period. Children identified by sentinels and those whose alleged maltreatment is investigated by CPS during the same period are evaluated against standardized definitions of abuse and neglect. The data are unduplicated to ensure that a given child is counted only once in the study estimates. https://www.dataxplorer.com/Project/ProjUser/OlapShowReportList.aspx?ScreenID=10576


  • National Institute of Justice Data Analysis Tools

Online data analysis tools and downloadable datasets on a range of criminal justice-related topics such as arrests, victimization, recidivism, and corrections. https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=daa


  • New York Times Social Explorer

Gain deep insights into any location of interest through thousands of data variables and stunning visualizations. Reinforce your decisions with Social Explorer’s reliable data mapping capabilities.https://www.socialexplorer.com/



  • Opioid Data Analysis and Resources

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention data on drug overdose in the US. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/analysis.html


  • Opioid Misuse Data Analysis Tool

Mapping tool that includes macro and meso-level variables associated with opioid misuse - to view data for Yates county, zoom to locate on the map and click on “view details”. Options allow you to do historical and geographic comparisons of opioid overdoses along with social variables associated with opioid misuse.

https://opioidmisusetool.norc.org/



  • WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System)

CDC’s WISQARS™ is an interactive, online database that provides fatal and nonfatal injury, violent death, and cost of injury data. Researchers, the media, public health professionals, and the public can use WISQARS™ data to learn more about the public health and economic burden associated with unintentional and violence-related injury in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html


  • Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six categories of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults. YRBSS also measures the prevalence of obesity and asthma and other health-related behaviors plus sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts. YRBSS includes a national school-based survey conducted by CDC and state, territorial, tribal, and local surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments.