There are three ways to access the data: by submitting a preregistration to the GFS Registry; by following a Registered Report workflow; or by waiting for the data to be publicly released.

Prepare a preregistration for early access.

Preregistration is the creation of an analysis plan before observing the data to improve the credibility of statistical inferences and to clarify the distinction between planned tests and unplanned discoveries. Use the Codebook (Wave 1, Mid-Year, and Wave 2), Guide to Preregistration, and Preregistration Template to help you build your preregistration.

To access the data from the GFS, first create an Open Science Framework (OSF) account. Then, visit the GFS Registry and complete the Preregistration Form for access to the data. Check here for release dates. After submission of your preregistered study plan, the COS team will review the submission for completeness of the preregistration before access is granted to the dataset.  

For descriptive, non-academic uses, data journalists, policymakers, and others may obtain access during the controlled access period if they meet a qualified use case of descriptive reporting for non-academic purposes. Please email your request directly to globalflourishing@cos.io. 

Prepare and submit a Registered Report with preregistration for early access.

Registered Reports is a publishing model in which the journal reviews the preregistration plan and provides an in-principle acceptance (IPA) to publishing the findings regardless of outcome to protect against publication bias. This model is ideal for researchers who have a hypothesis-driven study in mind. Use the Codebook (Wave 1, Mid-Year, and Wave 2), Sample Dataset, Guide to Preregistration, and Preregistration Template to help you build your preregistration to access the sample data. Update your preregistration to request access to the full dataset after you have received IPA.

Registered Reports is a publishing format that emphasizes the importance of the research question and the quality of methodology by conducting peer review prior to observing the data. Registered Reports offers an opportunity for researchers to receive expert feedback on their study design before accessing the data. In the Registered Reports model, journals provide an in-principle acceptance to publish a study prior to data access and observation. The study will be published if it was conducted as planned, regardless of what the results show. Select a target journal that offers Registered Reports (see a list here) and prepare a Registered Report submission according to the journal’s guidelines. Then, submit the Registered Report to the journal. When you have received in-principle acceptance, upload your approved stage 1 manuscript as a preregistration to the GFS Registry to request access to the data. Learn more about Registered Reports.

Access data when publicly released.

The Wave 1, mid-year 2024 and Wave 2 non-sensitive data will be publicly released on April 8, 2026. After public release, there will be no restrictions on use with the exception of sensitive data which will continue to require ethical approval (e.g. an Institutional Review Board (IRB)) prior to data access. You are still welcome and encouraged to preregister your study and analysis plan even when the data are publicly released. Research plans that are not preregistered will not appear in the Global Flourishing Study Registry, a repository that houses research on the GFS data.