# Discover Research Environments and Explore Data

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Apollo and Trusted Research Environments licenses are required to use Trusted Research Environments on the DNAnexus Platform. [Contact DNAnexus Sales](mailto:sales@dnanexus.com) for more information.
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Before you start a data access request, find a research environment that contains the data relevant to your research and evaluate its contents.

To discover and explore research environments and their resources, you must be an [Authorized User](/user/trusted-research-environments/roles-and-permissions.md) of at least one environment, or the environment must be set to public.

## Locate a Research Environment

Start in **Data Resources** > **Resource Center** to see research environments available to you. Use filters or search by name, state, or org to find an environment with data relevant to your research.

![Resource Center showing available research environments](/files/fxcgrEaN2pr8WtW2ZiEC)

You can click any of the environments to view their details.

## Review Environment Contents

Once you've selected a research environment, open it to review what data and features are available. The environment detail provides the following:

* **Data Showcase** — Preview participant-level data and distributions before making a request.
* **Metadata** — Review the environment's description, geographic region, and data inventory details.
* **Request history** — View your existing and approved data access requests for this environment.
* **Projects** — Access projects associated with your approved data requests.

![Research environment details](/files/2HnSHwwmjCDD3FJtX65v)

### Preview Participant Data and Distributions

Before submitting a data access request, you can preview the environment's data using the **Data Showcase**, a curated, safe-to-view subset of the data for pre-request exploration by authorized users and reviewers.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Don't see the Data Showcase?** If the research environment [enforces full set selection](/admin/trusted-research-environments/creating-a-tre.md#step-5-configure-data-showcase-and-selection), the Data Showcase is not accessible. Your data access request includes all participants by default. You can [submit a data access request](/user/trusted-research-environments/submitting-access-request.md) directly.
{% endhint %}

You preview the data using a read-only [Cohort Browser](/user/cohort-browser.md) where you can apply filters on clinical and phenotypic fields, examine participant counts, and visualize data distributions. This helps you assess whether the environment contains suitable data for your research before committing to a formal access request.

To open the Data Showcase, click the **Data Showcase** button on the environment.

In the Data Showcase, you can:

* Apply and adjust filters on clinical and phenotypic fields to define the participant population that fits your research criteria.
* Name your cohort to document the population you are selecting.
* Customize the dashboard tiles to inspect field distributions and participant counts, helping you assess whether the data meets your needs before committing to a request.

## Next Steps

After you identify a research environment and explore its data, you can [submit a data access request](/user/trusted-research-environments/submitting-access-request.md) to begin the approval process.


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