In the variable view, clicking on the name of each variable reveals information that is more detailed. For example, under Categories, the variable information page will include the following information:
Name: the value entered for a response in the questionnaire;
Label: the response (or response category) corresponding to each value (Name);
Missing: values corresponding to a question not answered, (don’t know or not applicable, refused).
Clicking on the variable name, in the variable view reveals more detailed information about that variable. (This function is not available for all study variables). This information includes the question pertinent to the variable, the variable label, a list of the response option categories and some automatically generated summary statistics. In some instances, additional notes on skip patterns or references are included as well.
Participant death is currently captured in three ways: 1) from the next of kin contacting the CLSA directly, 2) through the ‘maintaining contact’ telephone calls that occur between main waves of data collection, or 3) from linkage to provincial vital statistics. Mortality data is now available and includes participant status (vital and withdrawal status), as well as data from the Decendent Questionnaire. For detailed information, see Data Availability.
The CLSA takes great care to check the accuracy and completeness of the data prior to release. However, because of the size of the dataset and the large number of variables, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the data. It is the responsibility of each data user to verify their dataset, the accompanying data dictionaries and the data support documentation available under Researcher Resources on our website. If you think your data are incomplete or if you identify errors while conducting your analyses, please contact us at access@clsa-elcv.ca.
The CLSA updates its datasets on a regular basis with additional data, corrections and other updates. Such changes are always indicated by the version number of a dataset. When an update is ready, we send a Data Release Update email to all approved primary applicants, explaining the change(s). You will be able to request the updated dataset if you are approved for those data and you decide that the updates are relevant to your project.
Yes, anyone requiring access to CLSA data must use the email address of the institution to which they are affiliated. Data will only be released to institutional email addresses. Email addresses containing domain names such as Gmail, Hotmail, etc. are not acceptable.
The Data and Sample Access Committee (DSAC) reviews applications for the use of CLSA data and makes a recommendation to the CLSA Executive Committee. Once the project has been approved by the Executive Committee, the CLSA Access Agreement has been signed, and proof of ethics approval has been received by the CLSA, the Data Curation Centre (DCC) will release the dataset(s) to the primary applicant. The link is valid for seven days and the number of downloads is determined by the number of project team members who have signed the CLSA Access Agreement, indicating that they require direct access to the data. It is the primary applicant’s responsibility to share the download link with the project team members, and to ensure that all of the project team members respect the terms of the signed CLSA Access Agreement. Please refer to the sample CLSA Access Agreement for more information on the responsibilities of users.
Strict CLSA security and confidentiality rules are in place governing the use and sharing of CLSA data. The CLSA requires users to sign a CLSA Access Agreement that details the specific uses of data and the CLSA’s expectations with regard to privacy and confidentiality. Only the primary applicant and the project team members who have signed the CLSA Access Agreement or an approved amendment are allowed to have direct access to the raw data. No approved user or member of their research team is allowed to share in whole, or in part the CLSA dataset with individuals who have not signed the CLSA Access Agreement, or an approved amendment.
Yes, you can add personnel to your approved study while your CLSA Access Agreement is active. If your application was submitted in 2019 or later, you can create an Amendment request in Magnolia, using the Create Amendment button at the top right of the screen once you have selected the appropriate requisition.
For applications approved before 2019, please email access@clsa-elcv.ca, noting that you wish to amend your current project and provide the project ID number. You will be contacted by one of the team and your project will be entered into our online application program, Magnolia. Once completed, you can create your amendment in Magnolia. When your amendment has been approved and the CLSA Access Agreement has been amended (if required), you will be notified with the next steps.
Data are provided to researchers in comma-separated values (.csv) files. Please note that the Baseline CLSA alphanumeric dataset alone contains over 4,000 variables collected from more than 51,000 participants. Depending on your choice of statistical software and proposed analyses, automatic data imports may not succeed and you may need to instruct your software how to read the file. This may require the use of advanced scripting and/or macros in some cases. The CLSA encourages you to include someone experienced in working with such complex datasets on your project team.
The Baseline alphanumeric data files are released in a zipped folder of approximately 85 MB and the Follow-up 1 alphanumeric data files in a folder of about 60 MB. For the size of images and raw data, please consult the CLSA Data Availability Table.
Researchers who have received data will have a specified time within which the proposed analyses must be completed. This timeframe is defined in the CLSA Access Agreement. The timeline of the approved project is defined in the application upon submission in Magnolia. The duration of the CLSA Access Agreement is typically an additional two years after the project end date to allow for publication of results and is clearly indicated in the agreement. If the analyses are not completed in this period, the applicant must submit an amendment request for a time extension or their data access agreement may be terminated (CLSA Access Agreement, Section 13). The CLSA will monitor the approved applications for adherence to the timeline.