Close Window to return to module page.Before analyzing the data, you will need to know how the variable is coded, data editing, processing, and collection information, and the count (or sample size) of the variable. This information is found in the tape documentation for the components.
First, you will check the tape documentation file to learn the tape position number for the gender or sex variable.
If you are still at the Physician's Examination tape documentation PDF file, click your browser's Back button once to return to the NHANES II page. If you returned to the NHANES homepage, click the Datasets and Related Documentation link, then click the NHANES II link, and then click the Data (ASCII) and Documentation (PDF) Files link.
Scroll to the Medical History Questionnaire files, and click the Documentation link. Use the search feature to locate the variable sex. At tape position number 0055 you will find the variable sex. The SAS code to create the SAS dataset will define the variable name using the prefix N2 followed by a two-letter abbreviation for the specific component (this would be AH for variables in the Medical History Questionnaire, 12-74 years file) and the original tape position number. Therefore the variable name for the question on sex is N2AH0055.
You should check the codebooks of the other components on your own.
Now, you will check the tape documentation file to learn how the variable sex is coded.
If you are still at the Physician's Examination tape documentation PDF file, click your browser's Back button once to return to the NHANES II page. If you returned to the NHANES homepage, click the Datasets and Related Documentation link, then click the NHANES II link, and then click the Data (ASCII) and Documentation (PDF) Files link.
Scroll to the Medical History Questionnaire files, and click the Documentation link. Use the search feature to locate the variable "sex". At tape position number 0055 you will find the variable sex and learn how the variable's values are coded.
Now, you will check the tape documentation file to learn the number of responses for the variable sex.
If you are still at the Physician's Examination tape documentation PDF file, click your browser's Back button twice to return to the NHANES II page. If you returned to the NHANES homepage, click the Datasets and Related Documentation link, then click the NHANES II link, and then click the Data (ASCII) and Documentation (PDF) Files link.
Scroll to the Medical History Questionnaire files, and click the Documentation link. Use the search feature to locate the variable sex. At tape position number 0055, you will find the variable sex. Note: the counts for each gender can be summed to get the total sample size.
Finally, you will check Data Source or Notes column to determine whether there are special notes for the serum cholesterol variable to find important information needed prior to analysis.
If you are still at the Medical History Questionnaire tape documentation PDF file, click your browser's Back button once to return to the NHANES II page. If you returned to the NHANES homepage, click the Datasets and Related Documentation link, then click the NHANES II link, and then click the Data (ASCII) and Documentation (PDF) Files link.
Scroll to the Hematology and Biochemistry files, and click the Documentation link. Use the search feature to locate the variables related to serum cholesterol. Serum cholesterol starts at tape position 421, so the variable name is N2LB0421. In the Data Source or Notes column you will see the note "See Detailed Notes" indicating that there is more information available about this variable that you should consult before analysis. Use the search feature to find the Special Notes listed by the tape position number at the end of the tape documentation file. For serum cholesterol, special notes are listed for tape positions 421-423, 426-429, and 434-437 that describe how laboratory tests were conducted to measure total serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides.
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