Data editing took place at a number of stages throughout the processing, including:
a) Office editing and coding
b) During data entry
c) Structure checking and completeness
d) Secondary editing
e) Structural checking of SPSS data files

Each week, the data entry operator gives the supervisor two specific computer-generated documents for each
household in the previous week’s ward:
• a listing of errors in the data entered for the household;
• a special listing of consistency checks.

A distinctive feature of the NLSS is the use of personal computers for data entry in the field. Instead of sending
the completed questionnaires back to the central office
for data entry, the data collected in the ward were entered while the team was still in the field. For this purpose,
each team was provided with a computer, a printer, and a power system for data entry, in addition to scales and
meters to measure children. A data entry program developed specifically for the survey was installed on each
computer. The data entry program let the data operator and the supervisor know if there were mistakes or
missing data in the interview, and checked whether information from one part of the interview matched
information from other parts. When problems or errors were found, the interviewers returned to the households
to correct the information. This process of entering, checking, and correcting the data in the field helped to
ensure that the information collected was accurate. It also reduced the time lag between data collection and data
analysis; diskettes containing the complete data for each ward were sent back to the central office as soon as
work in the ward was completed, and the data were available for analysis shortly after the completion of the
collection phase.

Data Entry:
Data entry involves keying in information from the questionnaires and then running a series of programs to
check the information. These programs detect errors or
inconsistencies in the data. All data are stored internally in the team’s computer. In addition, the data entry
operator makes backup copies of all data files on diskettes. The data entry operator is also responsible for
maintaining the personal computer, printer, and the power equipment, as well as for storing the diskettes,
printouts, and questionnaires properly.