Table 1.
Common variable descriptors used across feeder studies and examples by feeder study.
| Descriptors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable Name: | Name of the variable | ||
| Dictionary ID: | Variable ID number | ||
| Variable Label: | A short description of the variable; the variable label only appears when no survey question is available | ||
| Survey Question: | Number and text of survey question from which variable is derived; the survey question only appears when it is available | ||
| Value Descriptions: | Description of possible values for categorical data | ||
| Value Min: | Minimum value possible | ||
| Value Max: | Maximum value possible | ||
| Data Types: | Data types, listed for Generic, SAS, R, SQL, C#, and XML | ||
| Is Nullable: | If true (i.e., is Nullable = 1), a null value is possible | ||
| Form Section: | Section on form or survey from which variable is derived | ||
| Table Name: | Name of database table from which variable is derived | ||
| Variable descriptor* | Colorectal cancer | Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | Gulf War research |
| Variable name | Colonoscopy | Speech | Act mod days |
| Dictionary ID | 110238 | 120294 | 100694 |
| Variable label | Speech | ||
| Survey question | 15. Have you ever had a colonoscopy (tube with a light inserted into colon after you are given medicine to make you sleepy)? | 18. On how many days did you engage in moderate physical activity (like a brisk walk) in the last 7 days? | |
| Variable description | Please indicate the category that most describes your current state of health: Speech | ||
| Value descriptions | 1 = Yes 2 = No |
0 = Loss of usual speech 1 = Speech combined with non-vocal communication 2 = Intelligible with repeating 3 = Detectable speech disturbance 4 = Normal speech processes |
|
| Value min | 0 | ||
| Value max | 7 | ||
| Data types | Generic [integer], SAS [4.], R [int], SQL [tinyint], C# [Byte?], XML [xsd:integer] | Generic [integer], SAS [6], R [int], SQL [smallint], C# [Int16?], XML [xsd:integer] | Generic [integer], SAS [4.], R [int], SQL [tinyint], C# [Byte?], XML [va:tinyint] |
| Is nullable | True | True | True |
| Form section | Form 01 Clinic Survey Form—Medical History | Veterans ALS Registry Questionnaire—B. ALS Functional Rating Scale | Baseline survey—lifestyle and activities |
| Table name | AllForm01 | ALS Questionnaire | Survey Parent |
*
The variable descriptors used are survey item/question dependent and, therefore, some fields are blank for particular variables of each study.