Grant access to data

Overview

One of the strengths of Redivis is that researchers can apply for, and gain access to, data on the same page as where they discover the dataset. Moreover, all access applications are tracked, both for administrator's reference and to provide transparency and timely notifications to researchers.

Responding to access requests in a timely manner creates a great environment for researchers and takes full advantage of these automatic systems.

1. Configure notifications

You can configure multiple email addresses to receive an email when a request for access is made to your organization, as well as the frequency you receive them. Especially if you are a smaller organization that isn't getting access requests every day, we very strongly recommend that you have at least one administrator receiving emails so you know when to respond to a request.

Learn more in the Settings reference section.

2. Approve membership requests

Users must be approved as members of your organization before any other access requests can be approved.

When a membership request is pending you will see an Alert (!) on the Members tab of your workspace. Click on any member with an alert to see their pending submission awaiting approval.

Pending members will have an Approve / Reject button as soon as you click on their page, alongside the authentication information they submitted when requesting to be a member. It is important to verify that this person has a genuine email that seems consistent with who they say they are.

3. Approve requirement submissions

As users ask for approval you will receive an alert (!) in the administrator panel where your attention is needed.

Member requirements and export restriction exceptions will appear on the Member tab.

Study requirements will appear on the Studies tab.

Direct access requests will appear on the Datasets tab.

When all of the pending requests are resolved, the alert will disappear.

For each request you will have the option to approve or reject the submission. You can always come in later to revoke the approval if needed. You might also see that the member has submitted updates to their existing approval. In that case the approval is still valid while updates are pending, unless it is otherwise revoked or expired.

Learn more in the Approving access reference section.

4. Leave comments for clarity

Both administrators and members have the option to leave a comment on any requirement submission. The act of leaving a comment will trigger an alert for administrators, or a notification for members.

Especially when you are rejecting or revoking a requirement submission, we recommend leaving a comment to let the member know what they did wrong, or what they still need to do to gain access.

5. Audit access

It's often a good idea to double check which researchers have access to your datasets.

In order to audit a particular member's access to your organization's datasets, double click on that member, and navigate to the Access overview tab. This will list all of your organization's datasets, and the member's corresponding access to each.

In order to audit all members that have access to a particular dataset, click the filter icon to the right of the member search bar. This will allow you to filter all members by their access to, and usage of, your organization's datasets.

Next steps

Expand your reach

If you are part of a larger institution, you can contact us about getting an institution-wide Redivis page to help users discover new organizations and datasets.