Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to some of the most common queries about the CLSA.
What are derived variables?
Within the CLSA dataset, derived variables (DVs) are variables that are created from other variables. DVs are derived by re-grouping or re-classifying the original variables, to glean information otherwise not available. Some DVs are based on published measures or scales. You will find documentation related to DVs under Researcher Resources.
The CLSA data are currently available to approved public sector researchers, with no preferential or exclusive access for any individual. The CLSA welcomes applications from graduate students and postdoctoral or clinical fellows who wish to use the CLSA data for their thesis research or for their thesis or fellowship research, respectively. For trainee applications (Masters, PhD, postdoctoral or clinical fellows), the primary applicant must be the supervisor and the student must be clearly identified in the Trainee section of the application. The primary applicant must hold an eligible appointment (continuing or term appointment) at an eligible institution that is able to uphold the conditions of the data access agreement, administer grant funds and provide Research Ethics Board approval.
Researchers are invited to submit data access requests using Magnolia, the CLSA’s online data access application system. Requests to access the CLSA data are reviewed by the Data and Sample Access Committee (DSAC). Please consult Researcher Resources, which includes the Data and Sample Access Policy and Guiding Principles, the CLSA protocol(s), the CLSA Data Collection tools and resources, and the information on the data access application process before preparing an application.
There are multiple data access application deadlines per year. For upcoming dates, please see application deadlines under Data Access. If you are the recipient of a CIHR Catalyst Grant for the use of CLSA data, you do not need to submit to one of the application deadlines. Please contact access@clsa-elcv.ca for special instructions.
Currently the charge for partial cost recovery per application is $3,000 CAD for applications within Canada and $5,000 USD for international applications. This includes access to the Baseline, Follow-up 1, Follow-up 2, or all three datasets. Due to the additional work required to make some data research ready, additional fees apply for access to image files, raw data, and datasets that require more complex customization. Please see the table of additional fees under Data Access. The fees are payable for the retrieval and preparation of the dataset per approved project, not for each project team member.