Demographic and Health Surveys Methodology - Measure DHS

The Guidelines for the Main Survey Report detail the tabulations that will be produced on the basis of thesurvey data and provides some insight into the interpretation of these tabulations. This manual also aidsdata processing staff in determining the exact tabulations that are required for the survey. CommunicatingDHS Data is a manual with tips on how to effectively present DHS data to various audiences throughcomputerized slide presentations, reports, fact sheets, maps, etc.REPORTS AND DATAThe survey results for each participating country are published in a brief preliminary report, a moredetailed final report and a summary type report on key findings. The latter two reports are widelydistributed and constitute the primary output of the project.Further dissemination of survey data is achieved through the publication of analytical and other reports.Of particular relevance for program and policy purposes are the Comparative Report series. These reportsprovide information across survey countries and can contribute greatly to the policy debate through theexhaustive view they provide on a particular situation in a large number of countries. Analytical Reportsare also published and provide rigorous analysis of survey data.In the early 1980s, ORC Macro pioneered the development of an innovative survey research tool, thesoftware package, Integrated System for Survey Analysis (ISSA). This software was specially designed toallow for hierarchical data entry, complex consistency checking, tabulation of survey data, andcomputation of sampling errors. Not only was ISSA used worldwide for all ORC Macro surveys, but itwas also adopted for the processing of the Bolivia Integrated Household Survey funded by the WorldBank, by the Rand Corporation for the processing of the Family Life Surveys in Indonesia, Bangladesh,and Malaysia, and by the Economic Commission for Europe for its Family and Fertility Surveys. A fewyears ago, ORC Macro joined with the U.S. Census Bureau to develop an integrated, Windows-basedversion of their software packages. The new program, CSPro, was launched recently and has already beenused in the DHS surveys and censuses for several countries.Another new tool that has been developed to facilitate the use of DHS data is the STATcompiler. This is aWeb-based tool that allows users to build customized tables for DHS countries based on hundreds ofindicators. The tool is also an excellent mechanism for policymakers to get quick access to specificinformation that may be needed for reference, presentations, speeches etc. The STATcompiler can beaccessed through the DHS Web site (www.measuredhs.com).DATA ARCHIVINGDHS believes that widespread access to survey data by responsible researchers has enormous advantagesfor the countries concerned and the international community in general. Therefore, DHS policy is torelease survey data to researchers after the main survey report is published, generally within 12 monthsafter the end of fieldwork. DHS maintains a data archive, with datasets available on the Internet through aprocess of electronic registration. The address is http://www.measuredhs.com.The reformatting of each dataset into a standard recode file facilitates use of DHS data. This filestandardizes the variable names, location, and value categories across countries and constructs many ofthe commonly used variables such as age in five-year groups. Because DHS surveys collect an enormousamount of information on different subjects for the household, women age 15–49, children under age fiveand often men age 15–59, these standard recode files are a particular advantage to cross-country analysis.Guide to DHS Statistics 4 September 2003