Using the 1984 Survey Data
This
document lays out some key concepts and some recommended reading to
hopefully help the newest user get started with the 1984 Survey
data.
Know the Components of the Survey
The 1984 survey has two components:
community and household. Each component
has one questionnaire, one codebook and at least one data file
associated with it: (a) The community component has one
questionnaire, one codebook and one data file. (b) The household
component has one questionnaire, one codebook
and two data files.
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 1984
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.