What is the NLS Investigator?
The NLS Investigator is a web-based search and extraction program for data from the National Longitudinal Surveys. This guide will help you search for, identify, and download NLS variables of interest, along with programs that allow for the creation of datasets in SAS, SPSS, STATA, and R..
To help new users understand the NLS Investigator, review the Glossary of NLS Terms that are found throughout this guide.
Advantages of the NLS Investigator
The NLS Investigator is designed to make finding variables as easy and fast as possible. Key features include the following:
- Variables are available at three levels of detail (primary, secondary, and tertiary). Select All Variables to view the complete dataset.
- Flexible search options allow users to find content on a codebook page by entering any part of a word, number, or phrase.
- Codebook pages include graphical displays (pie, bar, and line charts). The Basic Download option automatically selects commonly used settings to speed up data extraction.
- Quick access to codebook pages is available by clicking the codebook icon in the first column of the search results table.
Avoid downloading the entire NLS dataset
The datasets are extremely large and will likely impede the performance of your computer. Please review the Large Dataset Recommendations and the Accessing Data / Cohorts page for more information.
Next: Large Dataset Recommendations
Quick links: Table of Contents | Glossary of NLS Terms