Cohort Discovery
Learn about Cohort Discovery and gain access to the service
About Cohort Discovery
Quickly find the data you need
Cohort Discovery helps researchers estimate the size of cohorts relevant to their research, across multiple datasets, in seconds. This allows you to assess feasibility early, without needing to manually contact individual data custodians upfront.
What you can do
- Search across multiple datasets at once held across the UK
- Define specific cohort criteria (e.g. females aged under 35 with asthma)
- Get real-time counts of individuals matching the specific criteria
- Identify datasets relevant to your research ready to apply for access
How it works
- Define your cohort: Use the intuitive query builder to describe the population you’re interested in
- Run your query: Your search is securely executed in real time across multiple pseudonymised datasets
- Review the results: You’ll receive a count of individuals who match your criteria in different datasets
What happens next
Once you’ve identified datasets of interest, you can:
- Contact the relevant Data Custodian to learn more
- Submit Data Access Requests through the Gateway
- Apply to multiple custodians using a standardised process
This helps save time and effort for both researchers and data custodians.
New Cohort Discovery Service
Our new Cohort Discovery Service has been designed with users in mind, featuring:
- A natural language query builder
- Clear guidance to help you get started quickly
- An open-source platform available for the wider research community
Get started
View all the (Gateway) datasets currently available to search in Cohort Discovery.
Apply to access the service: Click the ‘Access Cohort Discovery’ button (top right of the page, here) and follow the prompts. You must be approved to use the service before being able to run any searches.