Survey Data Preparation

1. Get a head start. Prepare for processing while the questionnaires are still in the field.
2. Expect a large volume of paperwork. Surveys often generate more paper than many researchers anticipate.
3. Keep it neat and orderly. Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place.
4. Maintain adequate records. Record things promptly and make notes, rather than depending on recollection.
5. Sight-edit documents thoroughly. Establish criteria for acceptance or rejection of completed questionnaires and use them consistently.
6. Postcode questionnaires carefully. Every item that isn’t precoded must be assigned a code value and be recorded in the codebook.
7. Monitor data transfer. Be sure the data are keyed to files promptly and accurately.
8. Edit the computer data files. Check to be sure the records conform to the format and the variable values are within range.
9. Identify scale and data types. Record the designations on a “key” questionnaire to use as a working guide.
10. Recode data with care. Select categories that are more meaningful and recode continuous items with many values into fewer but larger categories.
11. Enter names and labels. List variable names and category labels on the key questionnaire and enter them into the analysis routines.