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Basic Needs Study: Merged Data Set, Waves 1 -5Study DescriptionQuick Jumps
IntroductionThe format of the data for the Basic Needs Study is quite complex, reflecting the methodology of the time that the data were collected. The information included below is essential reading for any researcher trying to use these data. Much of this information is derived from the original project codebook introduction and other project papers. DPLS staff re-wrote this information and clarified it as was necessary. The sample consisted of a cross-section of households throughout the State of Wisconsin, supplemented by special oversampling of households in which the State Department of Health and Social Services had a particular interest (low-income families, households with an elderly head, and female-headed households with children). The total sample size is 1816 households. There are 6 records per household. Each record is 28,000 characters in length. Each variable is 10 characters in length. The objectives of the survey were to describe the basic needs of families, to observe the variation in needs as a function of household size and composition, region, and season, and to determine the behavioral and psychological responses to changes in the ability of families to satisfy their consumption requirements. Included were an extensive retrospective life history and behavioral and attitudinal measures. Format of the DataThe merged dataset of 11,900 variables is a combination of household and person data over the five waves. The five logical data "segments" are described below:
Each of the preceding six sets of variables were written out as individual rectangularized records with a fixed record length of 28,000. Thus the data for a single household consists of six such records:
Records were padded out to their full length with -1 codes. For any given wave all of the Variables were not used. A few unused Variables were re-initialized to 0 (this is an exception to the -1 rule specified below). Each Variable is 10 characters, and all appear to be right justified. The first Variable (or Word in the parlance of the Principle Investigators) in each of the five original data Segments is the Household ID. Household ID number indicates sample:
The second word is a household indicator, coded as 1 if the household is present in that wave, otherwise coded as 0 (and then all remaining variables in that segment are left as -1). A few Variables have implied decimals (as noted in the codebooks) and they are as follows:
Within each of the original five wave segments there are person variables (in Wave 1 these have been separated onto the second record). Because it was known that the maximum number of people in any household across all five waves was eleven, the person data sections were set up to allow for the maximum of 11 persons. Each of these sections has a first variable that indicates whether a person of that number is present at this time, and if not, all the variables for that non-present person in that wave are set to the default of -1. Because the order of the variables reflected the original coding procedure within each household and person grouping, the ordering is not necessarily meaningful or convenient. This has distinct implications when browsing through the codebooks, as there are logical skips of considerable magnitude among variable groupings. Throughout the interviews some information was obtained by Person Number rather than for the household. It was this information that was inserted into the person data sections of each wave. For example, in the Telephone Waves (Waves 2 -4), Social Security was obtained not at the household level, but at the person level. However, it was also possible that the respondent would acknowledge that Social Security was received but either didn't know by whom or it was not ascertained, and that information was carried along in the household section of the data. Thus, in order to calculate total Social Security received by the household it will be necessary to sum across all persons present that wave as well as the household variable that contains information about "not ascertained" people. For most of the continuous dollar variables, but certainly not all, an attempt was made by the Principle Investigators to make the data more easily accessible for analysis. For these variables, there is no missing data, as it is assumed to be zero. However, for each variable there is an accompanying flag that informs the researcher as to the quality of the dollar value. Thus, it is left to the discretion of the researcher as to how missing data will be handled. The definition of these accompanying flags easily identifies which variables have been handled in this manner, and the flag always immediately precedes the dollar variable. Missing Data InformationInitially all variables were set to -1 (the Not Applicable Code). The Code of -1 is repeated throughout the data and reflects when the skip local specifies that a question is to be skipped. In the codebooks, following the text of the question, the skip logic is specified. If there is some skip logic for the question, it is contained between asterisks, and should be read as "if [statement that appears between asterisks] is true, variable will be set to -1." In addition, a code of -2 indicates a response of "don't know" and -3 indicates a "not ascertained" response. There are two variables that may have a legitimate negative response:
Return to top of pageVariable IdentifiersCorresponding to every variable in the codebooks is a wave-deck-variable identifier in the form i-jj-kk where:
The VARxxxx number associated with each variable in the codebook reflects the actual location of that Variable in the data record. Thus VAR0036 in the Wave 1 codebook occupies columns 361-370. All variables are right justified. There are two important exceptions to this rule:
Format of the CodebooksAlthough the data have been merged into one file, the codebooks are in three parts. Each codebook begins with VAR0001. Users must calculate for themselves the location of each variable based on word size (10 characters) and variable position on the record. In December of 2000, DPLS staff converted the documentation files from gif to pdf format for easy browsing.
For quick references between variable list and the variables. Users can view the following variable lists by waves. Below are three variable lists linked to the codebooks:
The Diary SurveysIn addition to the five waves of data collected, three waves of diary information was collected on consumer expenditures (corresponding to waves 2-4). These variables were processed after the master file was created and inserted into what were previously empty variables:
These data have not been documented by DPLS staff other than providing the original Variable List as project notes warn that the data are problematic and not to be used. DPLS is happy to provide researchers with further information on these particular data if they so wish, but the staff will not attempt to document them. Equivalencies TablesWave 1 (Personal Interview)Record 1-Household Data
Personal Interview (Wave1 but does contain some cross-wave information)
Household Demographic Data Wave 1-5 Variables 1-100
Household Data from Wave 1 Variables 101-1000
Respondent Wave 1 Job Information (coded for up to 16 jobs since 1976)
Variables 1102-1119 (job 1)
Variables 1120-1137 (job 2)
...
Variables 1372-1389 (job 16)
Fertility Wave 1 Variables (coded for up to 16 children)
Variables 1402-1419 (first child)
Variables 1420-1437 (second child)
Variables 1672-1689 (sixteenth child)
Person Demographic Variables
Variables 1701-1800 in codebook repeat for each individual
Maximum person number across all 5 waves of interviews is 11
Variables 1701-1800 refer to person with person number 1
Variables 1801-1900 refer to the person with person number 2
Variables 2701-2800 refer to person with person number 11
Record 2-Person Data from Wave 1Variables 2801-3000 in codebook repeat for each individual Person 1 Wave 1 Data Variables 0001-200 (In Wave 1 Codebook Variables 2801-3000) Person 2 Wave 1 Data Variables 201-400 ... Person 11 Wave 1 Data Variables 2001-2200 Wave 2Record 3Household Data from Wave 2 Variables 1-1600 (Original Variables 5001-5500) Person Data Wave 2 Variables 501-581 in codebook repeat for each individual Person 1 Wave 2 Data Variable Locations 5501-5600 Person 2 Wave 2 Data Variable Locations 5601-5700 ... Person 11 Wave 2 Data Variable Locations 6501-6600 Wave 3Record 4Household Data from Wave 3 Variables 1-437 (Original Variable Locations 6601-7100) Person Data Wave 3 Variables Numbered 501-581 in codebook repeat for each individual Person 1 Wave 3 Data Variable Locations 501-700 Person 2 Wave 3 Data Variable Locations 701-900 ... Person 11 Wave 3 Data Variable Locations 2601-2700 Wave 4Record 5Household Data from Wave 4 Variable Locations 1-437 (Original Variable Locations 8201-8700) Person Data Wave 4 Variables Numbered 501-581 in codebook repeat for each individual Person 1 Wave 4 Data Variable Locations 501-700 Person 2 Wave 4 Data Variable Locations 701-900 ... Person 11 Wave 4 Data Variable Locations 2601-2700 Wave 5Record 6Household Data from Wave 5 Variable Locations 1-952 (Original Variable Locations 9801-10113) Marital Relationship Data Variables Numbered 314 (counter) and 315-324 in codebook repeated for each of up to four relationships Relationship 1 Variable Locations 315-324 Relationship 2 Variable Locations 325-334 Relationship 3 Variable Locations 335-344 Relationship 4 Variable Locations 345-354 Respondent Jobs Since 1980 (Variable Numbers 371-385 repeated for each of up to 8 jobs) Job 1 Variable Locations 371-385 Job 2 Variable Locations 386-400 ... Job 8 Variable Locations 476-490 Material Goods Matrices Each item can have up to eight instances (unless otherwise indicated). Counter variables indicates number, then grouped variables follow as in this example: Variable Location 494 Number of Cooking Stoves Cooking Stove Variable Numbers 495-497 repeated for up to each of eight items. Cooking Stove 1 Variable Locations 495-497 Cooking Stove 2 Variable Locations 498-500 ... Cooking Stove 8 Variable Locations 516-518 Refrigerators Counter Location 519 Instance 1 Locations 520-522 Instance 8 Locations 541-543 Freezers Counter Location 544 Instance 1 Locations 545-547 Instance 8 Locations 566-568 Dishwashers Counter Location 569 Instance 1 Locations 570-572 Instance 8 Locations 591-593 Clothes Washers Counter Location 594 Instance 1 Locations 595-597 Instance 8 Locations 616-618 Clothes Dryers Counter Location 619 Instance 1 Locations 620-622 Instance 8 Locations 641-643 Sewing Machines Counter Location 644 Instance 1 Locations 645-647 Instance 8 Locations 666-668 Central Air Conditioners Counter Location 669 Instance 1 Locations 670-672 Instance 8 Locations 691-693 Separate Air Conditioners Counter Location 694 Instance 1 Locations 695-697 Instance 8 Locations 716-718 Televisions Counter Location 719 Instance 1 Locations 720-722 Instance 8 Locations 741-743 Microwaves Counter Location 744 Instance 1 Locations 745-747 Instance 8 Locations 766-768 Pianos Counter Location 769 Instance 1 Locations 770-772 Instance 8 Locations 791-793 Organs Counter Location 794 Instance 1 Locations 795-797 Instance 8 Locations 816-818 Lawn Mowers Counter Location 819 Instance 1 Locations 820-822 Instance 8 Locations 841-843 Garden Tractor Counter Location 844 Instance 1 Locations 845-847 Instance 8 Locations 864-868 Snowblower Counter Location 869 Instance 1 Locations 870-872 Instance 8 Locations 891-893 Motorcycle Counter Location 894 Instance 1 Locations 895-896 Instance 6 Locations 905-906 Boats Counter Location 907 Instance 1 Locations 908-909 Instance 6 Locations 918-919 Motorized Campers Counter Location 920 Instance 1 Locations 921-922 Instance 6 Locations 931-932 Snowmobile Counter Location 933 Instance 1 Locations 934-935 Instance 6 Locations 944-945 Cars, trucks, vans Counter Location 946 Instance 1 Locations 947-952 Instance 9 Locations 995-1000 Person Data Wave 5 Variables Numbered 1001-1051 in codebook for Wave 5 repeat for each individual Person 1 Wave 5 Data Variable Locations 1001-1100 Person 2 Wave 5 Data Variable Locations 1101-1200 ... Person 11 Wave 5 Data Variable Locations 2001-2101 Return to main BNS archive page. |
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