This web page describes how the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) makes anonymized microdata available to researchers. In general, the CBS makes its statistical products available to the public in a variety of ways. For example, the CBS publishes a large amount of statistical information both on the Internet and in print. In addition, those from outside the CBS may contract with the CBS for statistical analysis of data held by the CBS, whereby the results are provided in the form of graphs and tables. And finally, the CBS provides access to anonymized microdata files on which researchers can perform their own statistical analysis and research. Following is a brief overview of how these files are made available to researchers. There is a charge for the files or services provided in accordance with CBS pricing policy.

Public Use Files (PUF) (available in Hebrew only) are standard anonymized microdata products made available to the public at large subject to a standard CBS license. PUF files are also avaiable to researchers via Israel Social Science Data Center (ISDC) in the Hebrew University. PUF files contain information that is detailed enough for basic research, under confidentiality constraints.

Microdata Under Contract (MUC) contain more detailed data than the PUF files, but are made available after approval by the Government Statistician only to academic researchers and research institutions subject to a restrictive contract and license that enhance the preservation of confidentiality. The CBS has a variety of standard MUC products, but also prepares specialized MUC products for specific research needs. The MUC file is released in accordance with the MUC Guidelines (Hebrew).

A Research Room on the premises of the CBS office in Jerusalem is available for researchers who need even more detailed microdata than provided in the MUC files. Use of the Research Room is restricted to academic researchers and researchers from research institutions upon approval of their research proposal by the Chief Scientist of the CBS. The Research Room contains several personal computers with statistical analysis programs such as SAS, STATA etc. Use of the Research Room is subject to the Research Room Guidelines (Hebrew), which require, inter alia, that researchers using the Research Room undergo a security check, become special sworn volunteers of the CBS subject to criminal sanctions for breach of confidentiality, and publish their research results in a manner prescribed by the CBS.

Below is a list of PUF and MUC files available through the CBS including links to variable listings in each file and background information, followed by a list of researchers who have performed research in the Research Room and the topic of their research. The Research Room list also contains a link to the published research results.