• Terms and conditions
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Updated 07/09/2026

Thank you for your interest in the Understanding America Study (UAS) data files. To access UAS data, in addition to registering for a UAS account, please submit the appropriate data user agreement (DUA) for your research needs. By submitting an agreement users agree to follow all requirements stipulated within them. The following is a summary of the key requirements. It is provided for convenience only and is not a substitute for the applicable Data Use Agreement. Users remain responsible for complying with all terms and conditions of the Data Use Agreement governing their access to the data. In the event of any conflict between this summary and the applicable Data Use Agreement, the Data Use Agreement shall take precedence.

  • Accounts are provided to those who have a legitimate research purpose. Your account, once granted, will provide access to UAS data associated with surveys that are not currently under embargo. You may not share this data with colleagues, co-authors, or collaborators unless they too have created a UAS data access account. Users are permitted to download only the data that is reasonably necessary for their approved research activities. Whether acting as a registered user, an unregistered user, or through any third party, you may not access, collect, copy, download, scrape, crawl, harvest, or otherwise extract content or data from this website by automated means, including but not limited to bots, spiders, crawlers, scripts, or similar technologies, except as expressly authorized in writing by UAS.
  • Large language models (LLMs) and other artificial intelligence tools may not be used to manage, process, or analyze any data distributed by CESR. Under the terms of our Data Use Agreements, researchers may not share or distribute the data or related materials we provide to any other individuals, organizations, or entities. Accordingly, the use of LLMs constitutes a violation of all existing Data Use Agreements.
  • The data and documentation available through the UAS Data pages are provided by the Understanding America Study (UAS) for research purposes. While UAS makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the data and accompanying documentation, no warranty is made regarding their accuracy, completeness, or fitness for a particular purpose. Users acknowledge that errors or omissions may exist. If UAS becomes aware of material errors, it will make reasonable efforts to notify registered users.
  • Publications, presentations, reports, and other research products that use UAS data must acknowledge the data source by including the following citation:

    The project described in this paper relies on data from survey(s) administered by the Understanding America Study, which is maintained by the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the University of Southern California. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of USC or UAS.

    Some datasets may require additional or alternative citation language. Where applicable, the required citation will be provided on the dataset's webpage and must be used in place of, or in addition to, the standard citation above.

    Users are also requested to notify UAS of any publications or other research products based on UAS data by emailing uas-l@maillist.usc.edu.
  • Users must store, access, and use UAS data, including any derivative datasets created from UAS data, in a secure computing environment that protects against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. UAS data may not be stored, transmitted, or otherwise made available in any location or system accessible to individuals who are not authorized under the applicable Data Use Agreement.
  • Users must not attempt to identify, or permit others to identify, any individual represented in a UAS dataset. If the identity of any individual is inadvertently discovered, the user must: (a) make no use of the identifying information; (b) immediately notify the Director of UAS (Arie Kaptyeyn) of the incident at uas-l@maillist.usc.edu; (c) safeguard or securely destroy any information that could identify the individual, as directed by UAS; and (d) refrain from disclosing the individual's identity or the identifying information to any other person.
  • Upon request by UAS, users must promptly return or securely destroy all UAS data, including any copies and derivative datasets, and, if requested, certify in writing that such destruction has been completed.
  • Many journals now follow an open-data policy, encouraging or requiring authors to provide analysis data files along with published articles. In keeping with UAS’s philosophy of routine disclosure of research methods, data, and programs, we will host publication-related final analysis data sets for authors of publications based on UAS data. Third party redistribution of UAS data sets is not permitted. Rather, users are encouraged to direct third parties to UAS. Please see the UAS Data Management Policies for more information. If you have any questions concerning redistribution, email uas-l@maillist.usc.edu.