The purpose of the “Quick Guide” is to
orient potential users of the NELS:88/2000 data to suggested techniques
for working with the data files. Special attention is paid to topics that
will help users avoid the most commonly made mistakes in working with
NELS:88 data. This guide is meant to serve as an introduction. It is taken
from the: Base-Year to Fourth Follow-up Data File User’s Manual:
Appendix A (NCES 2002-323), which contains more detailed information about
the NELS:88 data files.
Authors:
T.R. Curtin, Steven J. Ingels, Shiying Wu, and Ruth Heuer, RTI, and Jeffrey Owings, NCES
This is a step-by-step example of a longitudinal
analysis using the NELS:88/2000 data. The example begins with selecting
the appropriate electronic codebook (ECB) for one's analysis, tagging
variables of interest, and creating SPSS syntax for extracting the data
off of the NELS:88 CD. The intermediate steps in SPSS are detailed. And
finally, importing the data and performing statistical analyses in the
AM statistical software is demonstrated. (Information on acquiring the
free AM software is also included). Emphasis is placed on accounting for
the complex sampling design with the design role variables.
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