# Data & Methodology > Every figure in the catalog comes from an official or public source, cross-referenced across independent datasets. ## How we source and cross-validate MatchPath aggregates independent public datasets into one catalog. We don't take a single vendor's word for a value: where sources overlap we cross-reference them, and conflicting values are flagged rather than silently merged. The catalog refreshes on regular ingest cycles (not per request). ## What the catalog is built from - **Accreditation records** — Accreditation status and history, accredited length of training, last site visit, and the canonical program identity (ACGME id). - **Program directory profiles** — Program profiles: positions, IMG resident percentage, J-1/H-1B visa sponsorship, PGY-1 salary, Step 2 CK expectations, application requirements, work-hours/culture, and resident demographics. - **Match and SOAP directory** — Match codes, match status, and SOAP eligibility, plus the directory links for each track. - **Federal hospital quality and payment records** — Teaching-hospital quality — the federal Overall Star Rating, the published measure groups (safety of care, mortality, readmission, and patient experience — each scored better/same/worse vs the national average), and facility metrics for the primary teaching site, plus federal industry-payment disclosures: drug/device-maker payments to the teaching hospital, joined by CMS Certification Number. - **Hospital safety grades** — An independent hospital safety grade (A–F) for the primary teaching hospital — a letter grade of how well a hospital protects patients from errors, injuries, and infections — joined by CMS Certification Number and refreshed each publication cycle. - **Federal research-grant records** — Federal research funding — the teaching hospital's total federal grant awards and active project count, matched by an exact/near-exact institution-name crosswalk (high-confidence only), feeding the MatchPath Program Score's research signal. - **Supplementary directory coverage** — Additional program listings used to widen and cross-check the catalog. - **Housing and cost-of-living data** — Area cost-of-living near each program's ZIP — median 1BR/2BR rent, listings, property-tax rate, median home value, environmental risk, livability scores, and nearby schools. - **Medical-school directory and public alumni signals** — The medical-school catalog and aggregate alumni→program evidence — which residency programs a school's graduates have matched into, as counts only (never alumni names). - **Program and hospital websites** — Logos, banners, about copy, official website URLs, leadership/faculty where published, and open positions advertised on a program's own openings page. - **Specialty program-director vacancy boards** — Off-cycle residency and fellowship openings published by the bodies that represent program directors in each specialty — currently emergency medicine, urology, pediatrics, interventional radiology, and pathology fellowships. Each listing carries the program, the training year, the start date, and where to apply. ## The datasets - **Residency programs** (/programs) — Every ACGME-accredited program: accreditation, specialty, positions, NRMP match data, IMG percentage, visa sponsorship, salary, and Step 2 CK expectations. - **Sponsoring institutions** (/sponsors) — The health systems, universities, and hospitals that hold the accreditation, and the programs each one sponsors. - **Teaching hospitals** (/sites) — Primary clinical training sites with federal quality measures, the hospital safety grade, and facility metrics. - **Metro areas** (/regions) — Programs grouped by CBSA metro, with area cost-of-living and livability signals. - **Medical schools** (/medical-schools) — The worldwide medical-school directory and aggregate alumni→program match evidence. ## Refresh cadence The catalog updates on ingest cycles, so a figure reflects the most recent successful refresh of that source, not a live feed. Rental and cost-of-living figures are directional estimates from a periodic listing sample; verify before acting on them. ## Reuse and attribution The underlying facts come from public sources and are not ours to restrict. The compilation is — the cross-validation across independent datasets and the scoring are MatchPath's work. Cite any figure by linking the specific page it appears on. Bulk copying, scraping, or redistribution of the catalog is not permitted. Every page is also served as Markdown at the same URL with `.md` appended — use that for machine reading rather than scraping the HTML. ## What we don't publish All catalog data is public, with two exceptions we never publish: contact PII — resident, faculty, and coordinator emails, phone numbers, and fax numbers — and resident and faculty photos. A signed-in user's own activity stays private to their account. ## Attribution and independence MatchPath is an independent aggregator and is not affiliated with ACGME, AAMC, FREIDA, NRMP, CMS, ECFMG, or any residency program. When citing a figure, attribute it to MatchPath as the aggregator and link the specific page. ## Frequently asked questions ### Where does MatchPath's residency data come from? Every program is cross-validated across independent public datasets, so you see consistent data instead of a single vendor's listing. ### How often is the residency data updated? The catalog refreshes on regular ingest cycles rather than as a live feed, so a figure reflects the most recent successful refresh of its source rather than a live lookup. ### Is the data cross-validated? Yes. Each program is cross-referenced across independent datasets, and when sources disagree the conflict is flagged instead of silently merged. That cross-validation across public sources is why the catalog is more reliable than any single vendor's listing. ### What data does MatchPath not publish? All catalog data is public, with two exceptions we never publish: contact PII — resident, faculty, and coordinator emails, phone numbers, and fax numbers — and resident and faculty photos. Your own activity in the app (tracker, rank list, interviews, notes) stays private to your account. ### How do I report incorrect residency data? Every program page has a "Report incorrect data" control, or you can email data@matchpath.app and we'll investigate the figure against its source.