The Murphy Institute invites Tulane researchers to access restricted U.S. Census data free of charge from the Atlanta Research Data Center (ARDC.)
In partnership with The Murphy Institute’s Center for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Tulane has joined with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and several southern universities to provide access to confidential, otherwise unavailable data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, the Social Security Administration and other federal agencies.
What is the ARDC?
Located at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the ARDC is part of a network of secure computing labs where qualified researchers can access confidential economic, demographic, and public health microdata provided by the U.S. Census Bureau or partner agencies. These include the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). For a complete list of partner agencies and available datasets, visit the ARDC website.
Fellow consortium members are Emory University, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Florida State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and Vanderbilt University.
How do I access the ARDC?
Researchers must develop a proposal, submit it for review by the applicable agency, and obtain Special Sworn Status. Once Special Sworn Status requirements are met, they can conduct research at the ARDC and will also have access to an onsite research assistant free of charge. As there are approximately 30 RDC labs across the US, Tulane researchers will easily be able to work with colleagues at other universities associated with other RDCs. For information on RDCs nationwide, consult the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers website.
What are the fees for accessing data?
CPPR covers the cost for Tulane researchers to access the ARDC. This includes obtaining Special Sworn Status, proposal development, project management, disclosure avoidance review, and using the lab itself. Note that some agencies (such as NCHS, BLS, and BEA) may assess a separate project fee if using their data.
General Guidelines
Researchers undertaking approved research in the ARDC will be responsible for ensuring that they are in compliance with the Internal Review Board (IRB) policies and requirements of Tulane University. Many research projects conducted through the ARDC will be exempt from IRB approval.
Some data collected by the Census Bureau are based on surveys sponsored by other Federal agencies. Permission to access these data often requires concurrence from the source agency(s).
The Census Bureau does not guarantee that other agencies will permit access to their data. ARDC researchers must abide by all Census Bureau confidentiality and disclosure analysis procedures, submit certain administrative reports, and provide copies of papers that emerge from their projects.
Howard-Tilton Library Guide to the ARDC
Further Information
See the ARDC website for information and links for writing and submitting proposals. For additional information, contact Chase Frederick, ARDC Administrator, at chase.m.frederick@census.gov or the Murphy Institute at murphy@tulane.edu.
ARDC Newsletter
Read the latest edition of the ARDC newsletter for new data sets available through the RDC network the latest approved and active projects from Tulane researchers:
- "Reconciling the Quantitative Gap in Measuring the Costs of Gentrification: Evidence from the American Housing Survey." AJ Golio and Christopher Oliver
- "Can Unexploited Monopsony Power Be Used to Counteract Income Tax Policy?" Alexander Siebert and James Alm
