Requesting Data

Before requesting any data, please reference our open data sources and review our Standard Terms for Researchers. If you intend to utilize District administrative data (i.e., grades, average daily attendance, suspensions) within your research, please note that all requests for such data must be made through the Research Review Committee. Individual schools or offices are not authorized to release the data directly to you (Please see Policies and Procedures).

All requested data must be reviewed and approved by the Research Review Committee (RRC) via your online research proposal. When asked about your research content in the online proposal process, select “I want to do secondary analysis of individual level data” or “I want to do secondary analysis of aggregate data.” Please request only the data that you feel are necessary for your planned analyses and be as detailed as possible; the RRC will respond with the data that will be provided by the District. When making this decision, the RRC considers current data availability and necessity. If you are unsure if your data needs require RRC review and approval, please view our reference matrix.

Once the RRC has approved your data request, you will receive a Data Agreement. You must sign this agreement, which includes our Standard Terms for Researchers. This Agreement will describe the data that the District will provide for you, and it will include an estimate for the cost of data pulling, cleaning, and delivery. Once you have signed the Data Agreement and returned it by mail, you can enter your final data request here. All data agreements, once fully executed, are binding.

Due to the volume of requests we receive, it will take at least 60 business days for your data request to be filled (beyond the research review and data agreement process, if applicable).

If you have any questions regarding the data request, agreement, and fulfillment process, please email researchreview@philasd.org.