Recoding old into new DCAF

Old DCAF (active until February 2024, but leakage)

This form had three values:

• data that can be made available to the Data Editor (privately).
• data that cannot be provided, but can be obtained by replicators within a short time frame.
• data that cannot be easily accessed.

They are not mutually exclusive, but are also not well defined.

New DCAF

The new DCAF is a bit clearer, and more explicit:

• Very Easy to Obtain (example: request takes just a few minutes with no associated costs and the expected response is within a few days).
• Moderately Easy to Obtain (example: request takes less than an hour with minimal cost).
• Moderately Difficult to Obtain (examples: request requires a multipage application; request needs university approvals; request involves significant cost; there is some uncertainty as to whether the proposal will be granted).
• Very Difficult to Obtain (examples: request must be made in person and/or access is provided only in person; request requires substantial funding; data and/or access mechanism may no longer exist).

Some additional examples:

• Very Easy to Obtain:

  • This would include IPUMS, which requires some user sign up and use agreements, even for 100% files and most international censuses, but generally access is fast (data extraction itself might still take time);
  • WVS, which has a four-item click-through license which just needs to be filled out

• Moderately Easy to Obtain:

  • DHS, where a "real" application must be written, which is read by a human being, but otherwise is relatively fast; but see below for DHS geocodes.
  • GSOEP, but only for EU nationals

• Moderately Difficult to Obtain (examples: request requires a multipage application; request needs university approvals; request involves significant cost; there is some uncertainty as to whether the proposal will be granted).

  • Some IPUMS International censuses, which require approval by the partner institution, and might take time
  • DHS geocodes in cases where the partner institution needs to give approval
  • but also FSRDC, Canadian RDCN, IAB, CASD: any of the formal research data centers, even from the perspective of a local person
  • may also include GSOEP if the requester is abroad, and needs to sign an institutional agreement
  • various corporate subscriptions, including WRDS, which cannot be obtained without a lot of lawyers interacting, but do have a formal access mechanism

• Very Difficult to Obtain

  • Individual data use agreements that rely on personal interactions
  • Data that are only available in a single physical location in person