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Accessing and Using Research Data From the Data Resources Program

NIJ makes data available from its funded research under the Data Resources Program. This program allows review, reuse and reanalysis of the data by the research community and helps ensure the integrity of findings through replication of the results.

Anyone can search or browse through the archive and read descriptions of the data sets, but you must register and login to view any documentation or download the data sets.

• Registering for Access
• Finding Data
• Downloading Data

Registering for Access

To access data sets, you must first register and login using the "MyData" service. Beyond allowing you to download data sets, MyData also allows you to:

• Set preferences.
• View your prior download history.
• Subscribe to receive an e-mail when a study you've previously downloaded is substantially updated.

Are You With a Member Institution? Many institutions are members of the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), which administers the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD). (View member institutions Exit Notice.)

• Nonmembers -- Some of the data will not be available even once you have registered if you are not with a member institution.
• Members -- If you are at an ICPSR member institution, you can opt to allow your campus Official Representative to view your registration information and help you get the most out of ICPSR resources.

Finding Data

NACJD offers three main ways to find data sets:

• Search by keyword or using dozens of predefined topics.
• Browse studies and data sets within 14 categories.
• View collections of:
  • All NIJ-funded data sets.
  • All BJS-funded data sets.
  • International data sets.
  • Serial data collections.

Downloading and Using Data

Downloading data is easy. First find the study you want, and then click on the "download" link. The Download page will walk you through a series of steps:

1. Select your statistical package from the list of available packages.
2. Select the data sets you wish to download (many studies have only one dataset, but some can have multiple data sets).
3. Add the files to your data cart using the "Add to Data Cart" button.
4. You can choose to review the contents of your cart and delete files if you wish by clicking on the "Review Data Cart" button.
5. Finally, click on the button "Download Data Cart." This will download a zip file that contains all the files you requested. The appropriate documentation files are automatically added.