Minor data requests are available to current STS National Database participants interested in requesting ad hoc queries of Database data for internal quality improvement purposes. If you are seeking data for research purposes, please refer to the STS Research and Analytic Center’s Access and Publications page.
General Information
- The intended use of minor request results is internal quality improvement. Results may not be used for research, external scientific presentation, or publication. Minor data requests (MDRs) for research purposes are intended to assist investigators as they prepare for full scientific proposal submissions by testing the feasibility of their hypotheses.
- The approval of minor requests depends on the availability of the analytic center resources at the time of the request.
- Data generated for a minor data request do not include multivariable modeling or complex statistical analysis and cannot be combined with or compared against externally sourced data.
- Surgeon-level data may not be requested.
- Database participants may submit minor data requests for the Database component(s) in which they participate.
- STS will accept one minor data request per Database participant per year. Additional requests will be considered based on STS resources.
Minor Data Request Review Process
- STS receives a data request form and sends an email response to the requestor to confirm receipt.
- STS conducts an internal review of the data request. If the request is not approved, STS notifies the requestor accordingly. If approved, the request continues through the review process.
- The STS National Database analytic center generates an estimate of hours required to complete the requested analysis.
- If the data request requires four hours or less of analytic time, STS notifies the requestor regarding the approval of his/her request, and the analytic center begins work. The processing time for a minor data request is approximately three to four weeks.
- STS is unable to approve data requests requiring more than four hours of analytic time. The requestor is notified accordingly.
- The analytic center provides progress updates to STS as available. Once analyses are completed, STS provides data to the requestor in the appropriate electronic format.
For more information, contact the STS National Database helpdesk.