| Re: Missing data [message #12817 is a reply to message #12810] |
Tue, 18 July 2017 10:35   |
Bridgette-DHS
Messages: 3208
Registered: February 2013
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Following is a response from Senior DHS Stata Specialist, Tom Pullum:
You are probably referring to cases that are blanks in ASCII or "." in Stata. Those codes should be interpreted as "Not Applicable" or "NA". Usually they arise in two different ways. First, a question and corresponding variable may be dropped but the variable is retained in the data file, and ALL the cases are coded ".". The second possibility is that it was only asked for a subset of women or children, such as the youngest child born in the past five years. (This is the child whose variables in the IR file have "_1" at the end.) Otherwise the code is ".". The NA cases should not be interpreted as "Missing". DHS uses numeric codes such as 99, etc. for refusals, out of range, flagged, etc., that would properly be described as "Missing".
|
|
|
|
The DHS Program User Forum
Members
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
