Since Tuesday, 29th November 2022, all applications for Research Organisation Registration, Researcher Registration or RMF Project Application approval have been managed using the Researcher Online System for Applications (ROSA): a new online system for managing the application, approval and access to RMF datasets that was developed by CSO IT in conjunction with the Researcher Coordination Unit (RCU).
RCU has emailed a new username to all existing RMF Researchers. Researchers must log on using their new profile and click on the ROSA link from their chosen desktop in the Research Data Portal (RDP).
To submit a Researcher Registration Application, please contact your organisation’s RMF Contact. To find your RMF Contact, you may need to email rcu@cso.ie.
For Researchers who are already registered, to create an RMF Project Application, please do so within ROSA.
If you wish to register a Research Organisation for the purpose of accessing RMFs, please contact RCU on 01-4984376 or at rcu@cso.ie.
If you are already registered as a Researcher with the CSO but did not receive an email with your new username, please call RCU directly on 01-4984376.
Data for Researchers
The primary objective of the CSO in providing access to microdata is to support the research community and to ensure that maximum usage is made of the data collected by the CSO. This approach supports the move towards evidence-based policy-making, has the potential to reduce the cost of research and also helps to avoid duplicate data collections.
The information available to the CSO (whether directly or indirectly) is used by the Office for statistical purposes only. The manner in which the information is protected is outlined in the Statistics Act, 1993. As the issue of confidentiality is of paramount importance to the work of the Office, a CSO Code of Practice on Statistical Confidentiality has been published and is strictly enforced.
Under the provisions of the Statistics Act, 1993, the CSO may provide access to microdata files under strict conditions to ensure that the integrity and confidentiality of data collected under the Act is maintained. Access is granted to microdata for scientific and statistical purposes only.
When considering applying for access to microdata, a researcher should investigate if the required data is available from another source. The levels of data available from CSO for research purposes can be viewed as a pyramid:
The CSO provides access to two types of microdata files:
Anonymised microdata files contain microdata that are provided for statistical/research purposes only in such a form that the information related to an identifiable entity/person cannot be directly (so, no direct identifiers) or indirectly (in many cases having undergone additional anonymisation procedures such as "top-coding", e.g., specific age re-coded to an age class) identified.
Further information on AMFs is available here
2. Research Microdata Files (RMFs)
RMFs are unit record files that do not contain direct identifiers but where the risk of disclosure through indirect identification is considered to be significant. RMFs are not statistical products, as our products relate to aggregated statistical analysis, but are research files that are made available to persons authorised to access such files under the Statistics Act, 1993 subject to strict criteria.
Access to RMFs is strictly controlled and can only be granted within the framework of the Statistics Act, 1993. In order for RMF access to be granted, approval must be granted by a Statistician, a Senior Statistician, a Director/Assistant Director General and by the Director General of the CSO. Approval will be considered for RMF access only where a researcher meets the following requirements:
Ensure your research organisation is recognised as a research entity.
Registration is required for all Research Organisations whose researchers wish to be eligible to apply for access to RMFs. It should be noted that the term "Research Organisation" refers to organisations whose primary focus is on research and also to organisations who have research units where the organisation's principal activity is not research. It should also be noted that Research Organisation Registration does not bestow any specific status on the organisation registered or imply any preferential access to RMFs. It simply implies that the organisation level details are held on file within the CSO and that access requests for RMFs themselves will be streamlined, i.e. the organisational level detail will not have to be resubmitted with each RMF access request. A list of registered research organisations is available here.
A researcher wishing to register their organisation for the purpose of accessing RMFs must send an email to rcu@cso.ie providing us with the contact details (name, position, email address and telephone number) for the Senior Representative* of their organisation. RCU will then send a link to the Research Organisation Registration application form to the Senior Representative.
* For the purpose of accessing RMFs, a Senior Representative is someone with the authority to make commitments on behalf of the organisation, e.g. CEO, Managing Director, President, Secretary General, etc.
Become a registered researcher
A researcher who has not previously accessed CSO RMF data on behalf of their current Research Organisation must apply for registration through their organisation’s RMF Contact**. To begin this process, the applicant should contact their organisation’s RMF contact and request that they create a researcher profile for the applicant in ROSA. To determine the name and contact details of your research organisation's RMF Contact(s), please email rcu@cso.ie from your work/college email account requesting this information.
**RMF Contact: a person designated by the Senior Representative to take charge of coordinating RMF project applications.
Lead Researcher completes application form
The Lead Researcher will create a new project application within ROSA. Once they have submitted this application, it must be approved by their organisation’s RMF Contact and then sent to the CSO for review
Depending on the RMF(s) being accessed, we will:
Access to microdata is only valid for the period specified in the RMF Standard Agreement.
Researchers should note that Eurostat provide access to European microdata files. Researchers interested in accessing Eurostat microdata files should contact Eurostat directly; details are available via the following link:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/microdata/introduction
