Creating Search Criterion

Clicking on the "Variable Search" tab takes you to the screen below, which allows you to enter search criteria and view the resulting variables from each search. In the below example, the "Search" sub tab was chosen in order to hide the browse by index option.

Variable Search screenshot

Eight main search categories are available:

  1. Area of Interest: the main research area of the variable
    • Pick from list
  2. Word in Title: any word that appears in the variable title
    • Pick from list
    • Enter search term
  3. Question Text: any word that appears in the text of the question
    • Enter search term
  4. Question Name: a code assigned to identify each question, which gives the location of the variable in the questionnaire or identifies it as a created variable. When possible, question names remain the same for the same question across survey years.
    • Pick from list
    • Enter search term
  5. Reference Number: abbreviated RNUM, a letter and number combination uniquely assigned to each variable
    • Pick from list
    • Enter search term
  6. Survey Year
    • Pick from list
  7. Codebook: a search for any text appearing anywhere on the codebook page
    • Enter search term
  8. Variable Type: a search for variables defined by a specific variable type (may not be enabled for all cohorts).
    • Pick from list

To create a search criterion, you need to select three items in the search menu bar:

  1. Select a search category such as Area of Interest or Survey Year.
  2. Choose logic operators such as equals or doesn't equal. The options vary depending on the search category. For example, "within" appears only in the Survey Year search and allows you to enter a range of survey years.
  3. Depending on the type of search selected, use the last drop-down arrow to pick from a list, or enter the text to be searched.

By clicking the "Add" button on the right of the search menu, you can also combine multiple search criteria using and/or logic operators.

Click on "Display Variables" to execute the search and see a list of variables that match your search criteria.

 


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