Triangle Census Research Data Center (TCRDC) Fact Sheet
The Triangle Census Research Data Center is a partnership between Duke University, the U.S. Census Bureau and the UNC System. The TCRDC is one of nine sites in a network of research data centers across the country and the only one located in the south east. Under this partnership, faculty, students and research staff for member institutions have access to unpublished micro data from the Bureau’s economic and demographic censuses and surveys via a secured computer laboratory located on the Duke Campus. Confidential data from other government agencies may be accessed via the TCRDC as well.
To perform research within the TCRDC requires the development and approval of a proposal by the U.S. Census Bureau. Interested researchers should contact the TCRDC Administrator or director (listed below) early on about their prospective project to help them navigate the process and answer questions. The U.S. Census Bureau Center for Economic Statistics proposal process is located at the following URL: http://www.ces.census.gov/index.php/ces/researchguidelines. TCRDC staff is available to assist new researchers with the proposal development.
Data Available through TCRDC
TCRDC provides access to Census micro data for approved research projects. These data sets are not a regular part of the Census Bureau data dissemination program. Researchers need to consult with the TCRDC Administrator on availability of particular data sets before writing research proposals.
Three groups of data sets are available:
Economic Data: Censuses and surveys of business establishments and firms. With very few exceptions, no public use files exist for these surveys.
Demographic Data: Censuses and surveys of households and individuals. These data are not the public use files, but include complete geography (in many cases down to the block). Items such as income are not top coded. Individual identifiers such as name, address, and social security numbers are not included.
Heath Data: Data sets available from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and National Center for Health Statistics. These data are not public use files.
Examples of newly available data sets
- The National Center for Health Statistics
- Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics
- Survey of Income and Program Participation (beta version) including full life-time history of earnings
- Agency for Healthcare Research Quality Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
- Trade Data Set – Export 1992-2005, ~24M observations depending on year
- Trade Data Set – Import 1992-2005, ~47M observations depending on year
- Trade Data Set – Exporter database, 1987, 1992, 1996-2004, “A Profile of US Exporting Companies.”
Additional information about currently available datasets is located at the following URL: http://www.econ.duke.edu/tcrdc/data_tcrdc.html
TCRDC Executive Director, Administrator and Board
Executive Director
Gale A. Boyd
Duke University
213 Social Science Building
Durham, NC 27708
phone: (919) 660-6892
fax: (919) 660-7984
e-mail: gale.boyd@duke.edu
RDC Administrator
Bert Grider
Duke University
213 Social Science Building
Durham, NC 27708
phone: (919) 660-6893
fax: (919) 684-8974
email: grider@email.unc.edu
Associate in Research
Monica Wood
Duke University
213 Social Science Building
Durham, NC 27708
phone: (919) 660-1823
fax: (919) 684-8974
email: monica.wood@duke.edu
Contacts
The TCRDC is governed by a six-member board of directors, which is charged with the annual review of the projected budget and research activities of the Center. The Board will provide advice/consent on any changes in the TCRDC’s operations. Three members will be from Duke University. One member each will be from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One at-large member will represent the entire UNC System.
Location of TCRDC and Facility Information
All research is conducted in secure laboratories located at Duke University that are operated in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies (CES). TCRDC is located in the Social Science Building, Room 329D. During normal business hours, the TCRDC Administrator or a research associate provides basic computing and research support. Faculty, students and research staff with active research projects may access the TCRDC laboratories 24/7. Visitor parking is available at pay lots on Campus during the day; on evenings and weekends is available in the lot directly behind the building (for more information about parking access or to make special arrangements contact the TCRDC).
The TCRDC laboratories provide each project with workspace, a place to secure research materials, and thin-client workstations to remotely access the Census Bureau data. Available software includes: SAS, Stata, Gauss, spreadsheet, word processing utilities. Other software (GIS, compilers, etc) may be available upon consultation with the TCRDC Administrator.
Member Institutions
Duke, Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Western Carolina University and Winston Salem State University.
Support for Member Institution Researchers
Member institution researchers receive:
- TCRDC staff support for Census proposal development and necessary approvals
- TCRDC assistance obtaining Special Sworn Status
- TCRDC assistance with Census clearance requests for research outputs
- Opportunities to collaborate with researchers at the other Census Research Data Centers
- Opportunities to build collaborations, especially for junior faculty and for obtaining necessary preliminary data for major research studies
The annual TCRDC conference will be held at Duke University this year and is scheduled for October 13th. This is open to faculty, students and research staff from all member institutions. The keynote speaker is Nobel Economist James Heckman. A call for papers will be announced soon via the TCRDC website. The cost of attendance is free but registration is required. A new researcher workshop will be scheduled if there is sufficient interest.
Fees
For research conducted by faculty, students and research staff from member institutions (i.e. UNC Campuses), access fees are covered by the UNC partnership contribution. For research conducted by faculty from non-member institutions, a maximum fee of $10K/year is charged for one fifth access basis (i.e. a day a week). Additional fees may be charged for access to data sets outside the core or that impose other special costs on the U.S. Census Bureau, including the CES or TCRDC.
Getting Started
