Databases

With the 2003 data collection as a starting point it was decided that all country datasets should be merged into a common international database. After that also data from 2007 and 2011 are available in separate databases. Initially, these databases were stored and maintained by the Databank Manager Thoroddur Bjarnson. During the 2015 wave of ESPAD, the international database was compiled and standardized by CNR (Pisa, Italy) and CAN (Stockholm), this database contains data from 1995 until 2019. It should be noticed that 2019 data are subject to an embargo period for third parties until November 2022, until then it is accessible to the national experts that conducted the national work (Principal Investigators).

Even though, since 2007, countries participating are obliged to deliver their national datasets to the international database there are - as stated in the Database Rules - no obligations to let other researchers use the national data without permission.
 

In order to obtain a copy of a Database, you can fill in an online application that will be processed by the ESPAD coordination in cooperation with the Application Committee. The conditions and restrictions for the use of the databases are described in the same application on which you can access the application.

Some technical issues when you enter the application site. Since the application has to indicate the years and variables of interest, we invite you to download and consult the Codebook of the ESPAD Trend DB which can be downloaded by clicking on the textual link provided in the website.

This document refers to the ‘ESPAD Trend database 1995-2019’, a unique repository of all ESPAD data collected during the previous seven waves by all the participating countries from which the requested data will be extracted. The Codebook reports all the information describing the complete set of variables of the ESPAD Student Questionnaire in all the previous seven waves (1995-1999-2003-2007-2011-2015-2019). Please remember that 2019 data are available only for ESPAD Principal Investigators until November 2022.

Before submitting the online ESPAD Application form, the variables of interest should be checked in the Codebook, as applicants will be required to give information and variable names according to the naming rules adopted in this document. The “Var Name” indicated in the Codebook is the standard variable name to be indicated when filling in the online ESPAD Application form. Detailed instructions on how to use the Codebook are provided at pp. 3-5 of the document.

The Codebook is a pdf document stored in a .zip folder, so it has to be extracted first and then open using Acrobat Reader (please do not use any other reader software).

ESPAD researchers are allowed to apply for the most recent database once the International ESPAD Report has been released.

Non-ESPAD researchers are also allowed to work with ESPAD data. Access for Non-ESPAD Researchers is allowed after an embargo period determined by an Assembly:
  • ESPAD 2003 Database: Accessible now
  • ESPAD 2007 Database: Was accessible since July 1, 2013
  • ESPAD 2011 Database: Was accessible since July 1, 2015
  • ESPAD 2015 Database: was accessible since September 15, 2019
  • ESPAD 2019 Database: will become publically accessible in November 12, 2022