Methods for Social Researchers in Developing Countries




Introduction

Hand versus
computer
analysis

Coding

Data entry

Aids
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Box 16.1. Illustration of part of a codebook

Variable Description Column
ID The unique number assigned to each respondent
01-03
GEN
  1. Male
  2. Female
04
CLASS

What is your class level?

  1. First year
  2. Second year
  3. Third year
  4. Fourth year
  5. Graduate level
05
PROB

What do you see as the most serious problem at our unversity today?

  1. Financial issues
  2. Academic quality
  3. Adequacy of facilities
06

Second, a description of each variable is included. For variables represented by items on a questionnaire, the usual practice is to repeat the item as it appeared on the questionnaire. The item and its response categories become the operational definition of the variable. Response categories are listed along with their codes, as shown in the middle column of Box 16.1.

The third feature of a codebook is shown at the right side of the box. This is the location of the data for each variable in the data file. Locations of the variables are frequently identified by columns, a carry over from the pre-computer era. In our illustration, ID was assigned the location of 01, 02, and 03 because, let's assume, we had a sample of 150 respondents; GEN was assigned to a location identified as column 04, CLASS to location as column 05, and PROB to column 06 in the data file. When a variable requires two digits, as often happens with scores or indexes, two columns are reserved for the data. For some variables, such as income, four, five, or even more columns may have to be used.

Your codebook provides in one place all the information you will need for planning analyses. The portion of a codebook shown in Box 16.1 tells us that CLASS, for example, is an ordinal variable with five attributes and that PROB is a nominal variable with three attributes. With this information, we can plan an analysis of these two variables.   The codes listed will also guide you in interpreting the results from an analysis.

For a study with only a few variables, a codebook may not be necessary. Also, a codebook may not be needed for hand analysis of data, but it is a convenient way to maintain a complete record of all your data and coding decisions. A codebook is essential for doing computer analyses.

Although the bulk of the work on a codebook is done when it is first constructed, changes occur during analysis. As mentioned earlier, after coding a set of responses, you may decide to change the coding scheme. The new scheme should be entered into the codebook for later use.

For computer analysis, data have to be entered into the computer. There are several ways of doing this.

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