The Cornell VirtualRDC provides researchers with access to
synthetic data over the Internet. The synthetic data are
constructed to statistically approximate the data available within the
secure and restricted access environment of the Census Bureau’s
Research Data Centers (RDCs). All data on
the VirtualRDC has been released for public access, and no
confidential data are stored on the VirtualRDC.
A secondary benefit is that researchers can learn how to work within
the constraints of the physical Census RDCs before
actually starting work at one of the physical locations, thus reducing
the setup time. Besides synthetic datasets, dummy and fake
internal-use datasets available in the Census RDC can
be accessed and used, and programs written on the VirtualRDC should be
100% portable to the Census RDC,
thus reducing development and travel time.
The Center for Economic Studies wants to assist doctoral candidates who are actively engaged in dissertation research in economics or a related field using Census Bureau microdata at a Research Data Center. For more information, click here.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)