Access Policy
The Generation Scotland Access and Publications Policy governs access to GS resources. You can find out more about our policy in this section.
Our policy explains procedures for managing access and the publication of data from GS resources, which is used to guide the Access Committee. The policy follows on from the Generation Scotland Collaboration Agreement. We welcome feedback from potential users and other interested parties – please e-mail access@generationscotland.org.
PDF Downloads of GS Access Policy
The Generation Scotland Executive gratefully acknowledges the ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) Access Policy, on which the GS Collaboration Agreement and the Management, Access and Publication Policy are based.
For more information, please e-mail access@generationscotland.org or call our office on 0131 651 8740.
Data Management and Linkage
A unique study ID was applied to our data and samples at the point of collection. Personal information for study participants is held separately from all other study data, along with an encrypted version of the CHI. The key to the encrypted CHI linkage is held in the NHS system and is not accessible by GS. This process is described in the Data Access and Linkage Plan.
Access by International Researchers
GS has consent for data to be used by researchers from around the world for medical research. However, the original consent given by GS participants did not allow us to send samples to researchers in countries other than the UK. We have since approached all Scottish Family Health Study participants seeking explicit consent to allow samples to be sent to researchers outside the UK, subject to the same ethical scrutiny as all other uses of GS resources. The great majority of those responding gave their consent.
You might also be interested in:
Generation Scotland Access Committee
Our Resources
Access Process