Variable Names

Most CHNS variable names consist of an alphabetic prefix (A, B, etc.) followed by a number. Each table/section of the questionnaire employs a different prefix. Variable names are normally printed below or to the right of the corresponding question on the questionnaire.

Some variables were renamed to facilitate use of the data. For example, variables that identify line numbers in tables were renamed "LINE" (see ID Variables). The suffix "_91" was added to the 1991 variables to distinguish them from similarly named 1989 variables, and "_93" was added to the 1993 variables. However, "_97" and "_00" suffixes were not added to the 1997 and 2000 variables. Suffixes are not indicated in the questionnaires.

Note that some variables documented in the questionnaires do not appear in the data files, particularly in 1989 data sets. Many of these variables were never entered into a computer file. Also note that variables T1 through T5 were dropped from 1989, 1991 and 1993 files since they were combined to form household and community identifiers (see ID Variables).  The variables T1 through T5 were not dropped from 1997 and 2000 files.  Finally the variables in the data files are not necessarily in the same order that they appear in the documentation.