Restricted Datasets

The Texas Research Data Center (TXRDC) is a collaboration between the U.S. Census Bureau and research institutions, including Texas A&M as a lead university, Baylor University, Louisiana State University, Rice University, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Texas at San Antonio.  

TXRDC is part of the national RDC network which allows researchers to conduct data analyses using restricted-access datasets from the Census Bureau and other federal agencies. Upon project approval, members of the TXRDC consortium may utilize the secure computing lab at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Please note that access to the secure computing lab at the University of Texas at Austin is not free for UTSA researchers and will require additional fees.

All RDC projects require a proposal and special review and approval by the federal agencies that produce the data being requested. Researchers with approved projects must obtain special sworn status prior to beginning research at the secure lab in the TXRDC in College Station. 

Please contact TXRDC Director, Mary Campbell m-campbell@tamu.edu if you are considering writing a proposal. It is best to contact her early in the process so that she can guide you on new processes that are constantly developing.

Some RDC projects and researchers may be eligible for secure remote access. Learn about project and researcher eligibility requirements for such remote access.

In addition to the Census restricted microdata, restricted datasets from multiple federal agencies can currently be accessed in RDCs. More datasets are becoming available on a regular basis.

To clarify the availability of specific datasets and variables contact Karin Johnson karin.johnson@census.gov.

We suggest exploring available restricted microdata by keyword, agency or topic using ResearchDataGov portal hosted by ICPSR. Visit the ResearchDataGov page in this guide for more information.