Data acquired for the UK Data Service collection undergo rigorous and comprehensive curation prior to publishing and release. This ensures that data, documentation and metadata are processed and published to the highest standard possible, both for ease of use in secondary analysis and for archival preservation.
The curation procedures carried out depend on the individual nature of each dataset and document, but as a general guide the following tasks are always undertaken:The Data Collection is available to UK Data Service registered users subject to the End User Licence Agreement.
Commercial use is not permitted.
Use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. Users must apply for access via a Secure Access application.
Approved users must complete specialist training.
The Data Collection can only be accessed via the Safe Room at the UK Data Archive
Additional conditions of use apply:
To apply for access you will need to provide confirmation that baseline personnel security standard checks have been satisfactorily completed (details are included in the following paragraph). When you are confident that you are able to meet this requirement, you should complete an ESRC Accredited Researcher form, a Research proposal, and a Secure Access User Agreement and attend a training session.
It is a Department for Work and Pensions requirement that a suitable officer at your institution provides confirmation that the following four elements outlined below have been verified for each individual who would get access to data under this application:
The confirmation should be provided in the form of a signed letter from your institution appended to your User Agreement. For more information regarding how these elements can be verified, refer to the DWP guidance and HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Although this guidance is primarily for the Civil Service, Armed Forces, and Government contractors, it applies equally to researchers accessing data via the Secure Lab.
More information about applying, and links to the forms you need to complete, can be found in our FRS application guidance document.
Your application will be screened by the UK Data Archive and then passed to the data owner for approval. You should therefore allow for a time delay whilst your application is being processed.