Output your results

This service allows you to output your analysis and code from the SDE for research or sharing purposes. All outputs are required to go through this process.

This output process ensures that data confidentiality is always maintained, and data protection best practice is followed in relation to any code or results taken out of the environment.  

This guide provides information on:

• how to export and prepare your file by following the Disclosure Control Rules
• how to submit your output request with contextual information
• how to access your approved outputs
• how to update a pending output request

Before you submit an output request, you must first export your results and ensure that they comply with the SDE Disclosure Control Rules. These rules ensure that output requests can be processed as quickly as possible. If your output request does not comply with the Disclosure Control Rules, it will be rejected.

Once your file has been prepared in line with the Disclosure Control Rules, you will need to export it to your desktop by selecting download to desktop.

For more information on outputting your results from Databricks, see Using Databricks in the SDE.

For more information on outputting your results from RStudio, see using RStudio in the SDE.

You can submit and manage your output requests through the Output your Results service. To do this:

1. Log onto the SDE portal.
2. Locate the Output your Results shortcut icon on your desktop.

From the landing page, you will find information about the service. You will also be able to access your output requests.

Select View and submit output requests.

On this dashboard, you will be able to see a list of your output requests in a grid view. There are columns for:

• ID: an output reference number, which is automatically generated
• File name and contextual information
• Status: this will be Approved, Pending or Rejected
• Request date: the time and date this request was originally submitted
• Requested by: the email address of the person who requested the output - this should be your email address
• Actions: here you can choose to edit the request’s description, which includes contextual information, and Fast Track status, or delete the request by selecting Remove

You can also filter your requests on this screen by selecting the Filter Requests option.

From the Output your Results dashboard screen, select New Output Request.

You must ensure that all files follow the Disclosure Control Rules, which means that they should not contain more than 1,000 rows or 30 columns. 

The file name will be automatically populated from the name of your upload. You must ensure that you have used a clear, descriptive name that is easy to identify. For example: ‘2020_hospital episode statistics.csv’.

The following export file formats are supported within the SDE:

JSON, CSV, TXT, MD, RST, TEX, PDF, PY, SQL, GZ, JPG, JPEG, SVG, PNG, GIF, R

After uploading your output file, you will be asked to add some contextual information about what your output request contains. It must include:

• a clear description of the work undertaken - for example, ‘a table showing rounded and suppressed counts of people with a certain condition split by trust code…’
• the source of this data - for example, ‘HES, a linkage of HES and another dataset’
• labels and descriptions of the data, fields or variables in a format readable to humans
• where counts have been used in any statistical analysis, provide the underlying numbers so that the potential for deriving small numbers can be assessed - these underlying numbers must not be included in the output itself

Example contextual information

‘Hospital Episode Statistics for 2022-2023. Table has values from our full patient cohort combined, and the second breaks down patients into sections for three vaccination status groups - fully vaccinated, partly vaccinated, and unvaccinated.

The ordering of columns overall (or within each section for the second table) is:

• a count of patients in the condition group - rounded to the nearest five
• IRRs for hospitalisations, then their 95% confidence limits
• IRRs for HDU/ICU admissions, then their 95% confidence limits

All columns ending in _s are counts and have been suppressed and rounded.’

After you submit your output request, the file will show as Pending while it is checked to make sure it follows the Disclosure Control Rules.

If it does not, your request will be rejected and you receive an email informing you of the reason why.

If you want to resubmit a rejected request, you will need to make any required changes and submit it as a new request from the dashboard screen.

How long it will take

Output requests are reviewed within 3 working days.

You will receive an email once your request has been approved. You will be able to download your results directly from this email.

For output support, including preparing your files and context emails, contact the SDE output checker team at [email protected].

For technical issues, such as account access, contact the National Service Desk on [email protected] or by phoning 0300 303 5035.

SDE users are invited to attend drop-in sessions run by our data specialist team. These regular meetings are for questions relating to the SDE environment and how to output results.

Drop-in sessions occur every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 11am GMT (excluding public holidays) via Microsoft Teams. Invites are sent with your SDE account activation email. Alternatively, contact [email protected] for more information.