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 the Data and Sample Access Policy and Guiding Principles, the pertinent sections of the CLSA protocol(s), the CLSA Data Collection Tools, and the information on the Data Access Application Process and deadlines, before preparing an application. The steps involved and the content required in the Magnolia data access application are outlined here. 

There are multiple data access application deadlines per year. For upcoming dates, please see Application Deadlines under the Data Access section. 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.

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 biospecimens and makes a recommendation to the CLSA Scientific Management Team (SMT). Once the project has been approved by the SMT, 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 Schedule F of 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 who have signed Schedule F, 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 Schedule F of 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 Schedule F of 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. Once your amendment has been approved and the CLSA Access Agreement has been amended (if required), you will be notified for 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 85Mb and the Follow-up 1 alphanumeric data files in a folder of about 60Mb. 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.

Biospecimens are not currently available. For questions related to biospecimens, please contact the Biorepository and Bioanalysis Centre (BBC) at bbc@clsa-elcv.ca.

Data access cannot be expedited; all interested researchers are required to follow the same application procedures to gain access to the CLSA dataset. Please see the Data Access Application Process for further information.

Approved Project Summaries are posted under the Researchers section of our website.

The CLSA encourages researchers to collaborate on similar research objectives. Summaries of approved projects are posted on the Approved Projects page and it is up to the applicants to determine if a similar application has already been approved. Please note that all applications submitted to the CLSA are reviewed and considered independently, even if similar research objectives are being proposed by different researchers.

Publications about the CLSA as well as those using CLSA data, can be found under Publications, in the Stay Informed section of our website.