Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA) Help

This web application provides access to the Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA) system which is a set of programs for documenting and analyzing survey-type data online. Certain studies or datasets have been set up on this server for your use, and you are now ready to analyze the data in the specific study you have selected. Here are a few preliminary hints:

Accessibility Mode

Selecting and Entering Variable Names

• Type the variable names directly in the input fields:
  You can simply type variable names in the input fields of the various forms. This method is straightforward, but can require quite a bit of typing if you are entering many names or the names are long.

• Drag and drop a variable from the variable tree to an input field:
  You can drag and drop a variable from the variable tree (on the left side of the application) to an input field on a form. Note that although the variables in the tree display both the variable's name and the label, only the variable name will be "dropped" into the input field.

  You can also right-click on a variable in the tree to bring up a context menu where you can click on "View variable" to view a description of the variable's contents.

• Use the "Variable Selection" panel:
  If you click on a variable in the variable tree, the variable's name will appear in the "Selected" box in the "Variable Selection" panel (above the variable tree). You can then click on the appropriate button -- "Row", "Col", etc. -- to copy the variable name to a specific input field on the form. (Note that the buttons change depending on the form that is currently displayed.) When a variable name is in the "Selected" box you can also click on the "View" button to view a description of the variable's contents.

  The "Variable Selection" panel is especially helpful when you are using the "Search" utility or the "List Created Variables" tab of the "Create Variables" utility. In either case, just use the "Select" button to copy a variable name to the "Selected" box of the "Variable Selection" panel. Now you can click on the "Analysis" option and choose the analysis program you want to run. (Again, the buttons below the "Selected" box will change to match the input form displayed.) Then click on one of the buttons to copy the variable name to a specific input field on the form.

Online Help

Most of the help links are context-specific and take you immediately to the section of a help file that is relevant to your position on an option screen. However, the entire online help files can also be accessed from the following links:

• Analysis Programs
• Creating New Variables
• Downloading a Custom Subset
• Search Techniques
• Cross-Study Search
• Computing Standard Errors for Complex Samples