WVU researchers will gain access to some of the nation’s most detailed federal data through the University’s new membership in the Federal Statistical Research Data Center, jointly operated by the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
The FSRDC provides approved researchers secure access to restricted, non-public microdata from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, and other federal and state agencies. These data offer a level of geographic, demographic, and economic detail that is generally unavailable through publicly accessible sources.
The University’s participation will expand opportunities for faculty to conduct rigorous research on issues affecting West Virginia, Appalachia, and communities across the country.
“This gives WVU researchers a level of data access that was previously difficult to achieve without outside collaborators,” said Shikha Sharma, interim associate vice president for research development.
“It is a significant step forward for the kind of rigorous, regionally focused research we do here. More importantly, it gives our faculty another powerful tool to address some of the most important health, economic, and social challenges facing West Virginia and Appalachia.”
The resource has potential applications across a wide range of disciplines, including economics, business, public health, epidemiology, nursing, social work, psychology, sociology, and geography.
Researchers could use restricted federal microdata to examine chronic disease prevalence and mortality trends, health disparities and access to care, labor force participation and workforce outcomes, income mobility and poverty, family and household structure, business formation and survival, and community-level social and economic well-being.
For researchers focused on West Virginia and Appalachia, the ability to examine data at a more precise geographic and demographic level could be particularly valuable. Greater detail can help researchers better understand differences among communities and populations and provide stronger evidence to inform health interventions, workforce strategies, economic development efforts, and community programs.
The new membership also creates opportunities for WVU researchers to develop projects and collaborations that may not have been possible using publicly available datasets alone.
To introduce the resource, FSRDC directors will provide an overview to the deans of research on Oct. 6, explaining the application, approval and data-access process, and discuss how restricted federal microdata can be incorporated into existing and future research programs. Meetings with WVU colleges will soon follow, and faculty can expect communications in the near future.
Faculty from across the University are encouraged to participate and explore how access to the FSRDC could strengthen current research or open new avenues of inquiry.