Access to the LSMS Surveys

Much of the following text is excerpted from:
Grosh, M. & Glewwe, P. A Guide to Living Standards Surveys and Their Data Sets. LSMS Working Paper #120, The World Bank, 1995 (updated on March 1, 1996).

(To download the complete document, see instructions.)

The Rules Governing Data Use
In most cases, LSMS surveys have been carried out by the national statistical agencies of the countries in which they were done and are the property of those agencies. Usually, the statistical agencies must grant written permission for other researchers to use LSMS survey data.

The willingness of these agencies to release their data varies greatly from country to country. In some countries such requests have never been denied, while in others permission has never rarely granted. Table 2 summarizes the rules and track record as they stand as of early 1996. It should be noted that initiatives are under way to make data access more open in several countries. In several other cases, the data are so newly available that a track record for data access has not yet been firmly established. Readers interested in a country with restricted data access may wish to verify whether the policy or its implementation has changed since this writing.

Most of the access agreements specify that the researcher may not pass the data to third parties for any reason. It should be noted that permission to use the survey data is usually given for a specific research purpose. Further use of the data for new research projects will usually require subsequent letters of approval from the government. Governments usually request that copies of research reports resulting from data analysis be sent to them. Sometimes this is only to ensure that they get a chance to read and learn from the reports. In other cases they reserve the right to comment on them before publication. Acknowledgment by the researchers of the source of the data is usually requested, and always diplomatic.

Likewise, the World Bank requests that papers using LSMS data be sent to the division which is the focus of LSMS work (currently DECRG; click here for address). This helps DECRG in various ways. First, it can determine whether certain areas are under-researched and take action either to promote such research or to discover whether it stems from a weakness in survey design. Second, the research often contains clues to the strengths or weaknesses of survey and questionnaire design that should feed back into decisions for future surveys. Third, by staying aware of the research being conducted on LSMS surveys, the division can help researchers avoid duplication of very recent or on-going work.

The World Bank (and sometimes other agencies that helped to sponsor the surveys) usually has the right to use the data from LSMS surveys for its various operational and research purposes, both by staff and consultants. As is standard with other types of information, consultants are not permitted to use LSMS data obtained in the course of a World Bank consultancy for non-World Bank purposes unless explicit permission is granted. In addition to the requirements imposed by the country, any work done by World Bank staff or consultants which is to be published outside the World Bank must follow standard Bank clearance procedures. Specifically, the country department must be allowed to comment on such documents.

DECRG Data Dissemination Activities
The researcher interested in using an LSMS data set first has to determine from whom he or she should try to obtain the data and documentation. Broadly speaking, the alternatives are from the government of the country to which they pertain or from the World Bank. Users resident in the country may find it easier to approach the national statistical agency. For some international users, communications may be easier with the World Bank and so they may find it more convenient to get data from the World Bank. In a few cases, the data are held only by the country and not by the World Bank.

DECRG's role in disseminating data is described in the following paragraphs. For access via the World Bank, the data and documentation are held in DECRG for most of the LSMS-type surveys discussed in this paper. In some cases, these are also held in the country department that developed the survey and duplicate copies exist at DECRG; thus they are available from either place. DECRG makes every effort to ensure that where other offices of the Bank also disseminate the data for a particular country that the same rules of access are followed and that the same data sets and documentation are made available.

In cases where government permission to use the data is required, the researcher should send a one or two page description of the proposed research to the appropriate statistical agency (see agency addresses). The request should specify which country and year of data are required. The proposal should include a description of the policy relevance to the country of the proposed research. You can ask the government to send a copy of the permission to use the data to both the researcher and to the "LSMS" section of the Development Economics Research Group (DECRG).

When the researcher has obtained permission to use the data, it should be sent, with the data requirements and abstract, to the "LSMS" section of DECRG (address). The World Bank will then make data sets available, usually on diskettes in ASCII, SAS-portable files, or STATA. ASCII data sets include dictionaries with variable names. SAS portable and STATA files include variable names and labels when they exist. A small fee is charged to non-World Bank researchers to help cover the costs of the time spent generating the data sets and documentation (pricing policy).

The extent and format of documentation available varies from country to country. Basic documentation usually includes the questionnaires, format files and/or code books, brief descriptions of any constructed variables made available and brief sampling information. For some users, more detail will be required, such as the manuals for the interviewers, supervisors or data entry operators. Where the information is readily available, the division will supply it for a small fee to cover the costs of photocopying and mailing.

DECRG has recently tried to systematize its documentation in order to provide more uniform, faster, and better service to data users. Providing more complete documentation should also significantly lower the start-up costs to the analyst in using a data set. By late 1995, it is hoped that adequate basic documentation will be packaged for the most used surveys. In the intervening period, the user may find the degree of detail, format and speed with which information can be supplied better for some surveys than for others.

The World Bank will usually not provide access to very recent data. This allows a period for their quality to be checked and for them to be formatted and documented to minimum standards. Often during this period, World Bank researchers will also produce constructed variables for aggregate household consumption, anthropometry, linking files for the various questionnaires, etc. These are usually made available to future users. The period between the division's first receipt of the data and their release to outside researchers varies depending on the complexity of the survey, the divisional work program and other factors, but usually ranges between six and eighteen months.

LSMS Data Available on the Web
For Information on which data sets can be immediately downloaded from this Web site, go to:
Household Survey Data and Supporting Documents

Revised 08/21/97