National Juvenile Court Data Archive

The data sets housed at the National Juvenile Court Data Archive are the property of the court or state agency that originally collected the information and were willing to contribute their data for use in the national reporting effort. This means that any use of the data, including use by Archive staff, must have prior written approval from the original data contributor. Obtaining such permission is rarely a problem, but it is a critical part of the dissemination process. With this understood, the general process for obtaining access to an Archive data set is as follows:

1. SELECTION OF DATA SETS
   User's guides available on this web site have been developed by Archive staff for each of the data sets. Individuals who do not know which data sets they would like should contact the Archive staff for assistance. The staff have analyzed each of the data sets themselves and can help researchers determine the data's ability to support their research needs. All researchers should review the user guides before a final data selection is made.

   Archive staff can be contacted at [email protected]

   
   
2. FORMAL REQUEST FOR DATA
   Once the data sets have been selected, a letter should be submitted to the Archive identifying the data set(s) of interest and outlining the reasons for the request (i.e. the specific research proposal). Costs for data services will then be negotiated. Since data sets require approval before release, the Archive will request permission to release the data from the data contributor. Often permission is granted with some preconditions. Preconditions may restrict further distribution of the data files to other users, require the researcher to provide the data contributor with drafts of all reports using the data, and require that all reports recognize the data contributor's role in the work. Prior to any data files being released, the researcher must submit a copy of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval and pay any associated costs. 

   Data requests should be emailed to the Manager of Data Collection at [email protected].  

   
   
3. DELIVERY OF THE DATA FILES
   Once permission has been received and preconditions met, the data will be transmitted via NCJJ’s secure file transfer process. 
   
   
4. PRODUCTION OF SPECIAL ANALYSES OR CUSTOMIZED DATA FILES
   The Archive may also conduct special analyses of the data files or create customized data files to the specifications of the researcher. Customized data files also require prior permission from the original data contributors. Once permission is granted, Archive staff will prepare and provide the analyses or the customized data files to the written specifications agreed to with the researcher. Archive staff are able to gauge the approximate cost of the project, but the exact fee cannot be determined until final specifications have been established.