5. Using the Research Data Exchange Data Package

The edX research data exchange (RDX) program enables researchers at participating partner institutions to request data for completed edx.org courses.

The RDX program is a mutual exchange: only partner institutions that choose to participate in RDX contribute data to the program, and only researchers at those institutions can request data from the program.

Researchers at participating partner institutions must propose, and be approved for, a specific educational research project to receive RDX data.

EdX obfuscates obvious identifiers from RDX data before it is shared. For example, names, user names, email addresses, and IP addresses are removed from the data. For more information, see rdx_data. Published studies based on RDX data may include only aggregate data.

• 5.1. Data Obfuscation Procedures for RDX
  • 5.1.1. Data Obfuscation Methods
  • 5.1.2. Obfuscated Data in Course Content Data Files
  • 5.1.3. Obfuscated Data in SQL Tables
  • 5.1.4. Unchanged teams_courseteam SQL Table
  • 5.1.5. Data Omitted from RDX Packages
  • 5.1.6. Obfuscated Discussion Data
  • 5.1.7. Types of Event Data in RDX Packages
  • 5.1.8. Obfuscated Data in Events
• 5.2. Retrieving RDX Packages
  • 5.2.1. Identifying an RDX Package
  • 5.2.2. Locating RDX Data on Amazon S3
  • 5.2.3. Download an RDX Package from Amazon S3
  • 5.2.4. Extract the {org}_{course}_{run}.tar.gz.gpg File

For information about joining the RDX program or proposing an educational research project, see the Research Data Exchange section of the partners.edx.org website.