It is the goal of the Division of Epidemiology and Research to meet your data request needs in a timely manner. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Angela Caruthers at 340-2149 or Nancy Horner at 340-5683.

The following information is provided as a guide to assist those interested in making a data request. Before submitting your request for information, please consider what you want to achieve with your data request. Although initiating the data request may appear straightforward, missing details may slow down the process. Planning and identifying where your exact data needs are will speed up the process.

A clear statement of purpose will help to clarify what data you want and what you can use the data for. Think through the three following questions:

1.	Why am I requesting this data?
2.	How will I be using the data?
3.	What sources do I have for this data?

If you cannot provide a clear and specific response to the first two questions, please spend a little more time in the planning process. If you have not thought to check what data are currently available, please begin your search by checking our website at healthweb.nashville.org. A considerable amount of data is already presented there in the form of reports, data tables, and charts.

Once you have answered these questions, then consider the following questions about the available data sources:

1.	Do you need general or specific data?
2.	Do you want data on individual cases or groups of cases?
3.	If you are asking for information on groups of cases, how do you want those groups defined? For example, age could be grouped into 5 year age groups (birth to 5 years, 6 – 10 years, etc.), 10 year age groups, or some other grouping that you need and define.
4.	Do you want the data so that you can analyze it yourself or do you want data that have been analyzed and reported to you on paper as tabulated data as in a report, chart, or table?
5.	What years of data are you interested in?
6.	What demographic data (age, gender, race) or geographic variables (county-wide, health planning district, zip code) are you interested in?
7.	When do you need the data? It is important to specify your timelines and to give the Division of Epidemiology and Research as much advance notice as possible. PLEASE ALLOW A MINIMUM OF THREE WEEKS FOR COMPLETION OF YOUR DATA REQUEST. If the data request is large and/or complex, the completion time for your request may be longer.
8.	How do I want to receive the requested data? How do I want the data represented (graphs, tables)?

Once you have considered these questions, you should have a clear picture of what you need and help you in communicating that information clearly to the Division of Epidemiology and Research. Should the Division need additional information from you, someone will contact you utilizing the contact information you provide on the data request screen.