Remote access
process
To access data from the RDC remotely, outside
researchers communicate with an automated system via e-mail.
Remote access users must complete the same application process as onsite
users, and after approval and registration, may utilize the remote access
system.
Approved projects are assigned an RDC Staff Analyst to help them manage the
research.
Data confidentiality
Prior to gaining RDC Remote Access, researchers must:
1. Complete the
Application Process
2. Read and follow the provisions of the NCHS Manual on
Confidentiality.
3. Complete and sign the Designated Agent form
. Note: This form
must be notarized.
4. You will also need to fill out two more confidentiality forms:
"Agreement Regarding Conditions of Access" and "Researcher Affidavit
of Confidentiality."
We will
sign the "NCHS Witness" lines when we receive the forms. Please mail
all three forms to:
Peter
Meyer, Director
Research Data Center
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Suite 4113
Hyattsville, MD 20782
Please
note: The RDC reserves the right to terminate any project at any time
that it deems that an investigator's actions will compromise confidentiality
or ethical standards of behavior in a research environment.
Further RDC Remote Access Requirements
Researchers
must register a credible and secure e-mail address.
Data
requests must be in the form of SAS programs (version
9.1).
The
SAS program must be in plain ASCII format.
Researchers
may not write permanent datasets in the remote
access disk space. Jobs that attempt to create permanent datasets or
files are flagged and terminated.
When this happens, an error message will be
sent to the researcher.
Programming limitations with remote access While
certain limitations exist with accessing RDC data remotely, more
than 50 percent of all RDC researchers access the data remotely at some
point in the process. Contact your RDC Staff Analyst if the
limitations prevent you from completing your research. Usually we can
find alternative means for accessing the necessary data.
SAS
program limits Certain procedures and SAS functions are not allowed
with remote access. For example, users cannot use PROC TABULATE or
PROC IML. For a complete list of SAS limits, see
the document Disallowed SAS Functions,
Statements, and Procedures . This list is
periodically reviewed and may be modified as necessary.
Data
limits Cells containing fewer than five observations
will be suppressed. Additional cellsmay be suppressed to maintain confidentiality (complementary suppression).
A certain percentage of the jobs processed by the remote
access system are randomly reviewed by the RDC staff for disclosure
violations.
If a confidentiality concern arises,
the output is withheld and appropriate
modificatins are applied to the system to prevent such disclosures.
Other
limits
During
the first week of registration, data requests are executed in a manual mode,
requiring RDC staff to review the program and resulting output before
release. During this period, remote access is available only during normal
working hours.After the first week, researchers
may submit data requests any time and receive prompt response, except when
the CDC e-mail system is down or when the remote access system is taken
offline for maintenance.
The
remote access system limits time and storage. For example,
no single program can
take more than one hour (clock time) to complete execution or to generate output
in excess of 1.5 MB.
With
one exception, macros are not allowed through the remote access system. The
exception, GLIMIX, requires special permission.
Macros
are not allowed through the remote access system.