Access to SHARE Data

All SHARE data are available in an open access regime for scientific purposes.

The SHARE data are distributed by SHARE-ERIC (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe – European Research Infrastructure Consortium) to registered users through the SHARE Research Data Center.

Access to the data collected and generated in the SHARE projects is provided free of charge for scientific use globally, subject to European Union and national data protection laws as well as the publicly available Conditions of Use.

Access services are rendered through two public data archives in cooperation with the Central SHARE Coordination Team: the CentERdata Archive located at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and the Data Archive for the Social Sciences, a public data archive run by GESIS Leibniz-Institute for Social Sciences in Cologne.

Available Data Sets

An overview of the up-to-date data sets of the different SHARE waves as well as additional data sets that are available via the SHARE Research Data Center can be found here: SHARE Data Releases.


Registration Process

SHARE-ERIC aims to share the SHARE data as soon as possible with the entire scientific community. Access to the SHARE data is provided free of charge on the basis of a release policy that gives quick and convenient access to all scientific users world-wide after individual registration.

SHARE data may be used for scientific research, subject to European Union and national data protection laws and the SHARE Conditions of Use. Furthermore, SHARE-ERIC promises to the participants in the study that the data will not be used for other purposes.

Therefore, any other uses, such as a commercial use of the data, are excluded as matter of principle.

In accordance with the legal requirements and ethical commitments related to the SHARE data collection, applicants have to acknowledge and agree that they will use the SHARE data only for scientific purposes. In this connection, they also have to provide relevant information with regard to their scientific alignment during the registration process.

If you wish to use SHARE data, you have to take only three easy steps in order to register as a SHARE user and obtain access to the SHARE data. Please note that access to the SHARE data will only be granted on an individual basis.

Step 1: Read the SHARE Conditions of Use carefully. You will have to agree to them in the next step – this is a necessary prerequisite to access and use the SHARE data.

Step 2: Download, fill out and sign the SHARE User Statement (PDF).

Step 3: Submit the completed and signed Statement(s) by email or mail to the SHARE Research Data Center:

Address:

SHARE Research Data Center
c/o CentERdata
Tilburg University
P.O. Box 90153
5000 LE Tilburg
The Netherlands

Email:  share-rdc@centerdata.nl

Access to the data will only be granted upon receipt of the required document(s). Please ensure that you provide only truthful and up-to-date information.

How to access the SHARE data after completion of the registration?

Upon acceptance of the credentials (normally within a few working days), access to the SHARE data will be granted most easily via the SHARE Research Data Center website by entering a personal user ID and a password.

Your personal data access information will be sent to you via email. Please note: this email includes a link to change your password which expires after 72 hours.

Official data download site is: https://releases.sharedataportal.eu/users/login


If you forgot your password and would like to reset it or would like to change your password for security reasons, please also go to the SHARE Research Data Center website and follow the respective instructions.
 

How are users informed about data updates and new releases?

Registered users of the data are regularly informed about updates of data and new releases via email. Regarding the subsequent use of the data, users are supported by a public website providing various information and by a combination of central and national support points which answer questions and respond to user requests.

Please visit the main website of the SHARE ERIC project to read the conditions for data use, the registration process and data access, at  www.share-project.org.


SHARE Conditions of Use

Please read carefully SHARE Conditions of Use.


Citation Requirements and Acknowledgements

In accordance with the SHARE Conditions of Use governing the use of SHARE data, an acknowledgement containing the following information has to be included in all publications using SHARE data. For the actual text of the acknowledgement related to SHARE data and all generated data and literature, please see the official website.