The Georgetown Equitable Data Access Project

Administrative datasets can provide researchers with a wide array of variables across geographies that are useful resources to investigate how social determinants of health (SDOH) affect health equity and place-based research. However, expanding researchers’ use of administrative data and enabling them to use the data to their utmost potential are difficult due to low awareness of the data sources, limited data documentation, and few data quality assessments.

The Georgetown Equitable Data Access Project will streamline data discovery and access for researchers and improve researcher capacity to use administrative data in their own equity research through the Georgetown University Research Data Center (GURDC). The GURDC is one of 35 secure federal statistical data centers across the country which grant approved researchers access to a rich array of non-public data. We aim to help train a diverse group of analysts in applying innovative methods to assess data quality and bias in administrative and linked data from the GURDC. Through supporting three demonstration projects, we will also show how researchers from various areas of expertise can add value to their equity research by using administrative data. If we can help researchers better understand how to use these data and work with the data bias and accuracy risks, researchers can develop new insights and influence policies to resolve how social factors and structures contribute to inequities in our communities.

For more information, please reach out to: equitabledataaccess@georgetown.edu