Accessing National Gambling Study and Health and Lifestyle Survey micro level data

Promoting open access to gambling survey data for bona fide public health research and evaluation purposes is a priority for the 2018–22 period. More information about this initiative and how to access micro level gambling survey data is below.

Promoting open access to micro level population health survey data for researchers

Promoting open access to data owned by the NZ Government is a priority for the government.  Consequently promoting open access to micro level gambling survey data for bona fide public health research and evaluation purposes is a gambling research priority for the 2018–22 period.

Open access provides a mechanism to promote innovation in research, build research capacity and capability for new and emerging researchers, and obtain more value from the research money invested. In addition, it is intended to enable the gambling sector to have easier access to quality information to inform their gambling harm minimisation activities.

Microdata refers to unit record and aggregate data that can be collected through surveys, censuses or administrative processes. Once all identifying information about individuals has been removed or modified to protect individual information, the dataset becomes a Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF). CURFs have had all identifying information about individuals removed, and have been modified to protect individual information.

CURFs for the large Ministry of Health population surveys are available, on application, to bona fide public-good researchers, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and district health boards. They’re available only after the key survey results have been released, and subject to certain terms and conditions.

The Ministry of Health population survey CURFs have now been placed in the Statistics New Zealand Data Archive. Researcher access to these datasets is now managed by Statistics New Zealand. Please go to the following website to view the eligibility criteria, the protocol for applying for access and the application form to access microdata – Confidentialised Unit Record Files (Statistics New Zealand).

Gambling survey datasets available to researchers

Learning from the example of the large Ministry population health surveys, promoting micro level access to the National Gambling Study 2012-2015 and Health Promotion Agency Health and Lifestyle Survey – Gambling Module data is a priority for the promotion of innovative and value add gambling research, and encouraging new and emerging researchers.

Accessing Health Promotion Agency Health and Lifestyle Survey (HLS)– Gambling Module data

The Health Promotion Agency (HPA) is responsible for:

  • data collected to monitor and evaluate HPA’s programmes and campaigns
  • data collected in cooperation with others, such as the HLS Gambling module
  • data entrusted into their care by other organisations.

HPA datasets – including the HLS and associated Gambling module data, are already available for statistical purposes to researchers working within academic institutions, government agencies and the wider health sector, through an application process and subject to certain conditions. 

Please go to the HPA website to view the eligibility criteria, the protocol for applying for access and the application form to access HPA HLS microdata for research purposes.

Accessing National Gambling Study (NGS) 2012–15 longitudinal survey data

Confidentialised Unit Record Files (CURFs) from the National Gambling Study 2012–15 survey data are available to researchers via Stats NZ.

The eligibility criteria, the proposed protocol for applying for access and the application form to access microdata are available on the Stats NZ website – Confidentialised Unit Record Files (Statistics New Zealand).

Promoting the use of the gambling survey data

To help promote the use of the data sets, in the period 2018–22 funding will be made available for use of the data sets to encourage innovation in gambling research and build research capacity.  

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