Whats the difference between the public use and restricted use versions of the data files?
The public use and restricted use files differ in the amount of information that they contain, as well as the ease with which they can be obtained and used. The public use versions contain less information but are easily accessible in that they can be downloaded directly from the ICPSR Web site. The purpose of excluding some information from the public use files is to protect the confidentiality of our survey participants. The restricted use versions contain more information, but in order to obtain and use the restricted use files, researchers must apply for access to the data and agree to the strict terms and conditions contained in the data use agreement. Information about the application process and data use agreement are available from ICPSR. Users can consult the relevant user’s guide to determine whether the public use version of the file contains enough information to fulfill their analytic needs. What research has been published from the HSC public use and restricted use data f
