Topics Covered in This Document:

• Adjusting your Browser for the SDA Interface

• Program Selection

• Variable Selection

• Run the Program

• Using the older (classic) SDA interface

Make sure that the main SDA window on your browser displays the various frames so that you can see them clearly.

• Adjust the size of the window by dragging the borders.
  AND/OR
• Adjust the size of the text (select View -> Text Size).

If a window to "view" the variable on the page of search results does not appear, set your browser to allow pop-ups on the SDA site you are using (for example, the Berkeley SDA site is 'sda.berkeley.edu'). Some browsers interpret that window as a pop-up and block it from appearing.

Firefox Users:

• Type 'about:config' in the address bar of the browser, and press the 'Enter' key.
• Scroll down to find 'layout.frames.force_resizability'
• Set that option to 'true', by clicking on that line and then pressing the 'Enter' key.
• Go to the SDA study (or return to it, and reload the page).
• Put the cursor on one of the borders between frames, and drag the border in the desired direction.

If the small 'Search:' box does not appear on the left side of your screen, even though you have a "Search" tab on the top, it may be necessary to clear the browser cache.
To clear the cache, select 'Tools' then 'Clear Private Data' and make sure that 'Cache' is checked before you click on the button. Then 'Reload' the page, and the small 'Search:' box should appear.

Select a program or procedure from the menu at the top of the main SDA screen (if you want to run a program other than crosstabulation, which usually appears when you start SDA).

After you select a program, the windows for variable selection and for program options will change accordingly.

Most procedures also have additional on-line help specifically for that procedure. Click on the 'Help' button that appears on the option screen for the program or procedure you have selected.

The available procedures will include some or all of the following:

Analysis Programs

• Frequencies or crosstabulation
• Comparison of means
• Correlation matrix
• Comparison of correlations
• Multiple regression
• Logit or probit regression
• List values of individual cases

Create Variables

• Recode one or more existing variables, and create a new variable
• Compute a new variable
• List and/or Delete the variables created by recoding or computing

Download Files

• Download existing dataset and/or documentation
• Create and download a customized subset of variables

Codebook

• View the full codebook for this dataset
  (Multiple codebooks are sometimes available)

Search

• Search the documentation to find the variables you want.

Getting Started

• View this help file.

You can select variables for analysis in the following ways:

• Variables in the original dataset
  • Use the "Search" box to find a variable, and then click on the button with the name of the variable to move the variable name into the 'Selected:' box.
    OR
  • Find the variable in the tree menu, and then click on the variable name or label to move the variable name into the 'Selected:' box.
    (You can open the folders containing variable names by clicking on the plus (+) sign.)

• Recoded or computed variables (if available)
  • Click on 'Create Variables' then 'List/Delete Created Variables', to see the list of created variables.
  • Then click on the button with the name of the variable you want, to move the variable name into the 'Selected:' box.

  Note that if you already know the name of a variable you want, you can enter its name directly into the 'Selected:' box, or even directly onto the option page for an analysis program.

• Click the appropriate button -- "Row", "Column", etc.
  OR
• Type the variable name directly onto the form.

Some options:

• View the description of the selected variable by clicking the "View" button.

• Append or Replace Mode:
  For some analysis programs, if a field on the program form already contains one or more variable names, the copied variable name either will be appended to the current content or will replace it, depending on the "Mode" setting.
  (The default is to replace the variable name.)

• Add modifiers like range restrictions or recode instructions to variable names that have been copied over to the program form.
  For example, if you have copied 'age' over to the program form, you can add a range restriction by typing '(18-40)' onto the end of the name of the variable, resulting in 'age(18-40)'.

After you have selected the program or procedure that you want to run, and the variables to use, then you specify the program options you want.

Finally, you click on the 'Run' button near the bottom of the option page.

• Select the Desired Options

  The option screen for each program provides the user with many options for analysis and for the display of results.

  If you are unsure about the meaning of an option, you can usually click on the option name, and a help screen will appear.

• Run the Program

  Click the 'Run' button to execute the program, using the variables and options that have been specified.

  The label on the 'Run' button varies somewhat, depending on the program. However, it should be clear which button to click on.

• View/Save the Results

  The results of the analysis will appear in a new window or tab (depending on the version and settings of your browser). After viewing and possibly saving the results, it is usually a good idea to close the window or tab. A new window or tab is opened every time SDA generates analysis results.

New SDA Interface versus Older "Classic Interface"

If you prefer to use the older SDA interface, click on "Use classic interface" on the top line of the SDA window.

The older interface will also appear under any of the following circumstances:

1. Your browser does not have JavaScript enabled.
2. The study you are analyzing does not have a variable tree (generated by the codebook program).
3. The data archive has set up the study to be run using the older interface.