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The text explains why record-level data enables stronger analyses than aggregated statistics, detailing how researchers can evaluate interventions, trace pathways to workforce outcomes, and connect early experiences to later careers. It outlines common state challenges for access, then presents five best practices, including transparent communication, researcher engagement, bidirectional value, privacy-by-design, and technology-enabled scalability.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/creating-a-path-to-answers-how-state-data-leaders-can-empower-researchers/584202/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/creating-a-path-to-answers-how-state-data-leaders-can-empower-researchers/584202.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Kyle","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is individual-level de-identified data important for research?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Individual-level, de-identified records allow robust statistical analysis of people’s education-to-workforce journeys, revealing patterns that aggregated statistics cannot show.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What common challenges do states face when optimizing researcher access to SLDS data?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"States must manage limited staff capacity, comply with complex legal requirements, implement appropriate security protocols, and balance competing stakeholder priorities.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What are the five best practices to enhance researcher access to SLDS data?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They include transparent communication, engaging researchers in decisionmaking, structuring programs so value flows both directions, ensuring data use and privacy go hand in hand, and leveraging technology to scale capacity and efficiency.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},584202,1792210861,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},3985741905716,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","Creating a Path to Answers: How State Data Leaders Can Empower Researchers  \nStatewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) can hold the key to understanding what works in education, workforce development, and beyond—but they can enable this insight only if researchers are able to access and use the data effectively. By linking individual-level data over time and across at least early childhood, K–12, higher education, and the workforce, SLDSs can provide a unique opportunity for researchers to use cross-sector information to produce trusted insights that  \nhelp individuals, the public, and policymakers understand education and workforce transitionsand outcomes.  \nAs states work to optimize researcher access, they face common challenges, including managing limited staff capacity, navigating complex legal requirements, establishing appropriate security protocols, and balancing multiple stakeholder priorities. These challenges are solvable, and states across the country have developed innovative approaches that address these issues while maintaining data security and public trust.  \nAs states continue to build and modernize SLDSs, ensuring responsible researcher access is essential to maximizing the systems’ value for communities and decisionmakers.  \nResearchers seeking access to SLDS data may be individuals or  \ngroups conducting a study that are affiliated with a data-contributing agency, a non-data-contributing agency, a postsecondary institution, or an external organization.  \nThis brief provides state data leaders—the individuals spearheading states’ longitudinal, cross-agency data work—with practical pathways to secure, transparent, and effective researcher access. Through research and input from state data leaders, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) and the Data Integration Support Center (DISC) at WestEd have identified five best practices for enhancing researcher access to de-identified individual-level SLDS data.  \nJAN  \n2026  \nSTATE I M P L EM E NTATION GUIDE  \nWhy Individual-Level Data Matters for Research  \nIndividual-level data—the detailed record of a person’s journey through education and into the workforce—that is de-identified enables robust statistical analysis to better understand what is working (and not working) for learners and earners, which aggregated statistics simply cannot reveal.  \nIndividual-level, or record-level, data allows researchers to:  \n• Evaluate how specific interventions affect different student populations over time;  \n• Identify which pathways lead to successful workforce outcomes for various demographic groups;  \n• Understand why some students thrive while others with similar backgrounds struggle;  \n• Evaluate program effectiveness by following actual participants rather than comparing group averages; and  \n• Discover unexpected connections between early education experiences and later career trajectories.  \nWithout secure access to individual-level data, researchers can report that “60 percent of students succeeded,” but they cannot explain which students succeeded, why they succeeded, or how to help the other 40 percent. This detailed understanding is critical for developing targeted policies and interventions that work for all students, not just the average.  \nBest Practices for Advancing Researcher Access  \nThrough thoughtful implementation of the following five best practices, SLDSs can become an even more powerful engine for continuous learning about what works in education and workforce development. These recommendations can help state leaders maximize the return on their state’s data investment while centering security and privacy protections that preserve public trust.  \n1. Communicate Consistently and Transparently.  \nBuild trust through sharing clear, accessible, and up-to-date information with both the research community and the public at large.  \n2. Engage Researchers in Decisionmaking. Create effective and sustainable programs through inclusive governance and community engagem","cbCaid431c5aA4MY","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaid431c5aA4MY","pdf",1562464,11,"English","# Why Individual-Level Data Matters for Research\n## Best Practices for Advancing Researcher Access\n## Understanding Where Researcher Access Already Exists\n## Actions for State Data Leaders","[{\"question\":\"Why is individual-level de-identified data important for research?\",\"answer\":\"Individual-level, de-identified records allow robust statistical analysis of people’s education-to-workforce journeys, revealing patterns that aggregated statistics cannot show.\"},{\"question\":\"What common challenges do states face when optimizing researcher access to SLDS data?\",\"answer\":\"States must manage limited staff capacity, comply with complex legal requirements, implement appropriate security protocols, and balance competing stakeholder priorities.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the five best practices to enhance researcher access to SLDS data?\",\"answer\":\"They include transparent communication, engaging researchers in decisionmaking, structuring programs so value flows both directions, ensuring data use and privacy go hand in hand, and leveraging technology to scale capacity and efficiency.\"}]","Creating a Path to Answers - How State Data Leaders Can Empower Researchers | PDF",1792050185,28]