Access:
Q: Can visiting professors, adjunct professors, lecturers, or other non-tenure track faculty access Nielsen data?
A: No. Only full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty, PhD students, and post-docs doing academic research - with approved projects - are eligible.
Q: Can undergraduates or masters students access this data?
A: No. Only full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty, PhD students, and post-docs doing academic research - with approved projects - are eligible.
Q: Can people outside of CMU (e.g., non-CMU collaborators, co-authors) use this data?
A: No. All researchers must have a subscription to the relevant dataset(s) through their home institution. No exceptions.
Data:
Q: I have looked at the detailed dataset descriptions on the Nielsen Kilts website. Is there also a codebook or variable list that can help me better understand the data?
A: Nielsen's support documents (the "Dataset Manuals") are confidential and proprietary. Researcher access to these documents occurs only after you are fully approved. If you are struggling to understand if Nielsen datasets can meet the needs of your research, you can search the scholarly literature to deepen your understanding (see below) and reach out to us via email for further advice.
Q: Where can I find papers that have used Nielsen data in the past to learn from their methodology/findings?
A: Nielsen posts some papers on their website and in a portal in SSRN. Google Scholar is also a great place to look: Start by searching for Nielsen and the relevant dataset name. (Optionally, add "Kilts".) Learn how to link Google Scholar to CMU Libraries' full text here. (You may also wish to search disciplinary databases for business, psychology, social & decisions sciences, and public policy, etc.)
Tech support:
Q: I need help storing the Nielsen data in institution-owned machines or Nielsen-approved third party hosting systems that have appropriate security certifications. Who can help?
A: Reach out to your respective school/college's IT department. At this time, the Libraries is unable to support data storage for Nielsen datasets.