Errata for 1979-2004 Data Release

Errata for 1979-2004 Data Release

Important Information

The NLS Investigator contains the most recent release of each NLS cohort. Known problems with the 1979-2004 release of the NLSY79 are found below. Corrections have been made to items noted in the Errata of prior releases. For further questions, please contact NLS User Services.

New Variable

NLS Program staff has created another version of the AFQT variables (Armed Forces Qualifying Test) called ASVAB_MATH_VERBAL_SCORE_PCT. This composite variable uses the scores from the ASVAB administered to the NLSY79 in the summer of 1980.  This variable will be merged into the mainfile data set with the 1979-2008 release, expected in Spring, 2008.

Data Errors

1) Missing Value codes for 40+ Health Module variables

For a number of 40+ Health Module variables, the values for refusal and don't know are not coded correctly. These codes are reflected in the data, but not in the codebook page for these variables. Users should recode the "9" values to "-1" (refused) and the "8" values to "-2" (don't know) for the 40+ Health Module variables listed below. These values will be recoded in the next NLSY79 data release scheduled for Spring 2008.

H00003.00  CESD - POOR APPETITE
H00004.00  CESD - COULD NOT SHAKE BLUES 
H00005.00  CESD - TROUBLE KEEPING MIND ON TASKS
H00006.00  CESD - DEPRESSED
H00007.00  CESD - EVERYTHING TOOK EXTRA EFFORT
H00008.00  CESD - RESTLESS SLEEP
H00009.00  CESD - FELT LONELY
H00010.00  CESD - SAD
H00011.00  CESD - COULD NOT GET GOING
H00076.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - ASTHMA
H00077.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - BACK PROBLEMS
H00078.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - PROBLEMS WITH FEET AND LEGS
H00079.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - KIDNEY OR BLADDER PROBLEMS
H00080.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - STOMACH OR INTESTINAL ULCERS
H00081.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - HIGH CHOLESTEROL
H00082.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - CHEST PAIN/PRESSURE, HEART PALPITATIONS, HEART TROUBLE
H00083.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - LOW BLOOD PRESSURE
H00084.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - FREQUENT COLDS, SINUS PROBLEMS, HAY FEVER OR ALLERGIES
H00085.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - FREQ INDIGSTN, STOMACH, LIVER/INTESTL, GALLBLADDER PROBS
H00086.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - DEPRESSION, EXCESSIVE WORRY OR NERVOUS TROUBLE
H00087.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - JT SWEL/PAIN, LEG CRAMPS, BURSITIS (NOT ARTHRITIS/RHEUM)
H00088.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - LAMENESS OR PARALYSIS (INCLUDING POLIO)
H00090.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - SCARLET OR RHEUMATIC FEVER, TB, JAUNDICE, HEPATITIS
H00091.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - FREQ OR SEVERE HEADACHES, DIZZINESS OR FAINTING SPELLS
H00092.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - EYE TROUBLE (NOT GLASSES/CONTACTS)
H00093.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - EAR, NOSE OR THROAT TROUBLE
H00094.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - SEVERE TOOTH OR GUM TROUBLE
H00095.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - SKIN DISEASES
H00096.00  CCR  - HEALTH PROBLEMS - THYROID TROUBLE OR GOITER

2) Incorrect codes for 1993 Job 4 and Job 5

Incorrect codes were used in the variables for 1993 Job 4 industry, occupation, class of worker and Job 5 industry and occupation. These variables will be corrected with the next release of the NLSY79. The affected variables are:

R42209.00  OCCUPATION (CENSUS 3 DIGIT) JOB # 4 JOB #4 
R42210.00  TYPE OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY (CENSUS 3 DIGIT) JOB # 4 JOB #4 
R42211.00  CLASS OF WORKER JOB # 4 JOB #4 
R42283.00  OCCUPATION (CENSUS 3 DIGIT) JOB # 5 JOB #5 
R42284.00  TYPE OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY (CENSUS 3 DIGIT) JOB # 5 JOB #5 

Uncorrectable Data Errors

1) Missing Occupation, Industry and Class of Worker in 1994 data items

The occupation, industry and class of worker information for 353 CPS employers were not collected during the 1994 interview. These CPS employers were either less than 9 weeks in duration since the last interview, or were employers for whom the respondent worked less than 10 hours per week. They were erroneously treated as other non-CPS employers with those characteristics, for which occupation, industry and class of worker information is not collected. For those employers that were also reported in the previous survey year, and for which the respondent confirmed that his/her occupation did not change since the previous survey year, the occupation, industry and class of worker codes from the previous survey year should also apply. Users may also data subsequent survey years in a similar manner to attempt to fill in more of this information.

This error is present on all current NLSY79 data releases.

2) Missing information on Union Affiliation/Collective Bargaining in 1994 data items

Due to an error in the questionnaire, information on union affiliation and collective bargaining on a number of employers was not collected. Respondents reporting a non-self-employed job should have answered these questions. This error affects employer #1 (generally the CPS employer) for 3,210 respondents of the 7141 respondents who should have been asked, employer #2 for 531 of the 2215 respondents who should have been asked, employer #3 for 128 of the 606 who should have been asked, employer #4 for 34 of 168 who should have been asked and employer #5 for 6 of 48 who should have been asked. This is 45% missing for employer #1, 24% missing for employer #2, 21% missing for employer #3, 20% missing for employer #4 and 13% missing for employer #5.

Conversely, information on union affiliation and collective bargaining was collected on a number of self-employed respondents, for whom these questions should not have been asked. This error affects employer #1 for 166 cases, employer #2 for 45 cases, and employers #3, #4 and #5 for 1 case each. This information for self-employed respondents (those with a code of "4" for class of worker) should be disregarded.

This error is present on all current NLSY79 data releases.

3) 2 missing cases in 1994 data items

Due to probable machine glitches, the data from two (2) apparently completed interviews was rendered inaccessible. 1994 variables for cases #5078 and #10524 are missing. Any 1994 data items remaining for these cases is meaningless and should be discarded for purposes of analysis. The 1996 interview period for these cases spanned from the 1993 to the 1996 interview. Information that would have been collected at the 1994 interview is thus now included in the data for the 1996 survey year.

This data error is present on all current NLSY79 data releases.

Documentation

1) Incorrect value labels for 2002 and 2004 SMSA residence variables

R77063.00 and R84987.00 (IS R'S CURRENT RESIDENCE IN SMSA for 2002 and 2004 respectively) have incorrect labels for the values '3' and "4". The labels for those values should be reversed. The current value labels read:

    1. NOT IN SMSA
    2. SMSA, NOT CENTRAL CITY
  • SMSA, CENTRAL CITY NOT KNOWN
  • SMSA, IN CENTRAL CITY

The correct value labels should read:

    1. NOT IN SMSA
    2. SMSA, NOT CENTRAL CITY
  • SMSA, IN CENTRAL CITY
  • SMSA, CENTRAL CITY NOT KNOWN