CORD Data Use Agreement

Definitions

• "Data Set" — An organized collection of digital derived data. Such Data may include confidential or proprietary information, personally identifiable information, or Protected Health Information (PHI), all of which may be subject to various federal and / or state privacy and data protection laws and regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and/or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For Data Sets to which access has been granted that include PHI, execution of a Business Associate Agreement may also be required.
• "Data User" — The individual to whom access has been granted to the requested Data Set, including his or her immediate collaboration sphere, defined here as the institutions, partners, students, and staff members with whom the Data User collaborates, and with whom access must be granted, in order to fulfill the Data User's intended use of the Data Set.
• "Data Set Contact" — The individual at CORD who authorizes the release of the Data Set to the Data User.
• "Data Set Creator" — The individual(s) at CORD who is responsible for the collection or creation of the Data Set.

Conditions of Use

The re-use of scientific data has the potential to greatly increase communication, collaboration, and synthesis within and among disciplines, and thus is fostered, supported, and encouraged. Permission to use this Data Set is granted to the Data User free of charge subject to the following terms:

1. Acceptable use. Use of the Data Set is restricted to the use described in your request. The Data User is permitted to produce and distribute derivative works from this Data Set provided that such use and distribution is done in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. Permitted uses include: (i) internal evaluation and improvement of residency review and selection processes, (ii) research with IRB approval (if applicable), and (iii) generating de-identified statistical summaries. Any other uses for the Data Set or its derived products will require explicit permission from CORD. No data from the Data Set may be used for commercial, promotional, or any other unrelated purposes. Under no circumstances is the Data User permitted to sell, share, or lease the Data Set.
2. De-Identification and Anonymization. If using the Data Set for research, presentation, or publication: (i) all identifying elements must be removed or anonymized, (ii) any direct quotes from narrative data including but not limited to personal statements or letters must be de-identified, and (iii) data presented in the aggregate must not be capable of the re-identification of individuals.
3. Redistribution. The Data Set is provided for use only by the Data User. The Data User may not redistribute or republish the original Data Set.
4. Citation. It is considered a matter of professional ethics, and legally required under Copyright Law, to acknowledge the work of other scientists. Thus, the Data User will properly cite the Data Set in any publications or in any derivative products that were produced using the Data Set.
5. Acknowledgement. The Data User should acknowledge any institutional support or specific funding awards accompanying this Data Set in any publications where the Data Set contributed significantly to its content.
6. Notification. The Data User will notify the Data Set Contact when any derivative work or publication based on or derived from the Data Set (as approved CORD) is distributed and will provide the Data Set Contact with reprints or online access to any derived digital products. Notification will include an explanation of how the Data Set was used to produce the derivative work.
7. Collaboration. The Data Set has been released in the spirit of open scientific collaboration. Data Users are thus strongly encouraged to consider consultation and/or collaboration with the Data Set Creator prior to publication.
8. Data Security. The Data Set must be protected with reasonable data security, including appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. This obligation includes proper management of any employees, volunteers, students, or vendors that may assist with storage or processing of the Data Set. The Data User is fully responsible for the Data Set. Any unauthorized access, acquisition, or loss of the Data Set must be reported to CORD through the Data Set Contact within two business days, providing full details of the incident and mitigation efforts. The Data User agrees to fully cooperate with CORD in the investigation and remediation of such breach.
9. Data Set Retention and Destruction. The Data User may retain the Data Set only for as long as is necessary for the purpose described in the Data User’s request. Upon conclusion of that purpose, the Data User agrees to immediately and securely return or destroy the Data Set and, upon CORD’s request, will certify to CORD that the Data User has done so.
10. Compliance with Laws. Data User agrees to comply with all applicable and relevant local, state, and federal privacy and data protection laws including, but not limited to:FERPA, HIPAA, and other related state-specific education and data privacy laws and regulations.
11. Audit. At CORD’s request and upon reasonable notice, Data User agrees to cooperate with any request by CORD to audit the Data User’s use of the Data Set, including the Data User’s compliance with the requirements of this Agreement.
12. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platforms: Recipients of CORD data agree not to upload, submit, or otherwise share any portion of the data set provided by CORD to public or third-party artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, including but not limited to generative AI tools, machine learning services, or large language model systems (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar technologies).

Publication

The Data User and CORD acknowledge and agree that the Data User shall have the right to communicate the outcomes of its research in any fashion, including but not limited to, publishing, reproducing, preparing derivative works based upon, distributing, displaying, or presenting the outcomes; provided, however, the Data User shall provide CORD with a copy of the publication no less than thirty (30) days prior to disclosure to a third party so that CORD can review to ensure the Data Set has been used in accordance with this Agreement and any restrictions on the Data Set provided at the time of disclosure.

CORD does not grant the Data User any right or license to use CORD’s logo or trademarks without separate written permission.

Acceptance of Terms

By accepting this Data Set, the Data User agrees to abide by the terms of this Agreement. The Data Owner shall have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately by written notice upon the Data User's breach of, or non-compliance with, any of its terms in which the Data User will be required to return or destroy all copies of the Data Set. The Data User may be held responsible for any misuse that is caused or encouraged by the Data User's failure to abide by the terms of this Agreement.

Disclaimer

While substantial efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of data and documentation contained in this Data Set, complete accuracy of data cannot be guaranteed. All data are made available "as is." The Data User holds all parties involved in the production or distribution of the Data Set harmless for damages resulting from its use or interpretation.