Using the 2000-01 Survey Data
This page lays out some key concepts and some
recommended reading to hopefully help the newest user get started with the 2000-01 Survey data.
Know the Components of the
Survey
The 2000-01 survey has three components:
community, household and migrant follow-up. Each component
has at least one questionnaire, one codebook and one data file
associated with it: (a) The community component has one
questionnaire, one codebook and one data file. (b) The household
component has three questionnaires - old households, new households and
moved households - two codebooks (an old & new household codebook
and a moved household codebook) and several data files. (c) The
migrant follow-up component has two questionnaires - rural to urban and
rural to rural - one codebook and several data
files.
Study the Fieldwork
Documentation
In addition
to the questionnaires
and codebooks for each of the three components, we highly
recommend reviewing the field
manuals before even attempting to use any part of the survey
data. In fact, it may be more beneficial to study the field
manuals first before looking over the questionnaires and
codebooks. Each component has its own field manual, although
there is some overlap across field manuals:
The community field manual contains
descriptions and interviewer instructions for each of the questions
asked in the community questionnaire. There are additional
concepts and fieldwork descriptions in the household survey field
manual.
The household survey field manual
contains an overview of the project, definitions and key concepts,
general procedures used in the fieldwork and then question by question
descriptions and instructions over all of the forms.
The migrant follow-up field
manuals - one for rural to urban migrants and one for the
rural to rural migrants - contain an overview of the project,
definitions and key concepts, general procedures used in the fieldwork
and then question by question descriptions and instructions over all of
the forms.
Using the Codebooks
In the front of each codebook, there are two sections that should be helpful in using the codebook and the data files:
This section describes the
different conventions used in the codebook including data file
pointers, the column format, the variable names, missing and not
applicable values and standard vs restricted-use shading.
This section describes the identifier variables used across all survey
years and all survey components. This identifier section is
critical for understanding and using the data.
Understand the Data
Files
All data files are in SAS xport
transport format. This means that when you reference the data
file with a libname statement in your SAS program that you must specify
the xport engine and the entire path name for the data file. For example:
libname in1 xport '/this/is/the/directory/filename.01';
- Data Structure and
Specifications
Please refer to the
2000
survey data files chart to learn about the data structure and
the specifications for each of the data files. Specifications on
each data file includes: the corresponding survey forms with brief
descriptions; the SAS data set name; the number of observations and
variables; the unit/level of analysis (1 obs=); the identifier sets;
how the data file is currently sorted; and the SAS pathname.