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Shareware Overload Trio 2
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FILES07.EXE
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TUTEPED.EPA
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1994-08-22
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_If Existfile FIRST.QES then DOS ERASE FIRST.QES
_Singlelines
_Display
This tutorial gives a quick overview of making a questionnaire
in Epi Info. A questionnaire is the template that guides Epi
Info in making a data file. Once you have created a questionnaire,
making a data file is an automatic process.
After each window like this one, press the <Esc> key to continue...
_Enddisplay
_Display
An Epi Info questionnaire may have up to 500 lines. Headings and
other text may appear anywhere. Places where you will enter data
are called "Fields" or (in the analysis phase), "Variables."
To see the types of fields available, look at the back cover of the
Epi Info manual. In EPED, holding down the control key and pressing
"Q" twice (<Ctrl-Q Q>) will display a list of field symbols. Choosing
a field type from the list will automatically insert the field after
the current cursor positon.
You may use this convenient method or simply type the symbols found
on the back of the Epi Info Manual if you prefer.
_Enddisplay
_Display
To begin making your questionnaire, first set EPED for the
questionnaire (QES) mode. This will turn off word wrap and set
the page size to 23 lines, the size of one screen in the ENTER
program.
_Enddisplay
[Press <F6> for setup and <Spacebar> until mode is QES. Then <Esc>]
_Display
Ok, let's make a questionnaire. To illustrate the method, we will
use a form for disease surveillance, but questionnaires may be on
any topic--surveys, clinical summaries, outbreak investigations,
telephone calls, or whatever strikes your fancy.
_EndDisplay
_Display
The first item is usually a heading. This may be several lines, for
example:
Costa County Health Department
414 First Street
Toledo, GA 30061
After typing a line, pressing <Ctrl-O> and then C will center the line.
(That's <Ctrl-O>, not Ctrl-zero.)
_Enddisplay
[Now type a heading, which may be several lines, and press <Esc> when done]
_Display
As you typed each line, it was "left justified," that is, began at
the left margin. If you did not center the lines, you may do so in
the next step by moving the cursor to the line with the appropriate
<arrow> key (be sure that <Numlock> is OFF>, and pressing <Ctrl-O C>.
_Enddisplay
[Go back to each line and center it with <Ctrl-O C> if necessary]
_Display
Let's start the questions with "Last name" and a series of underline
characters to indicate the entry field. The number of characters
allowed in the entry is indicated by the length of the blank:
Last Name ____________
_EndDisplay
[Type "Last Name," a space, and 12 underline characters.]
_Display
You could add other questions in the same way, typing in the
special characters for the fields, but let's try the automatic
field insertion menu.
In the next step, add "First name" so that the questionnaire looks
like this:
Last Name ____________ First Name
Do not press <Enter>, but stay on the same line.
_EndDisplay
[Type "First Name" and press <Esc>]
_Display
In the next step hold the <Ctrl> key down, and press QQ.
Release <Ctrl> and press <Enter> to choose the first field type.
Enter "12" for the length of the field and note how the field pops
into place after "First Name."
_EndDisplay
[Press <Ctrl-Q Q>, <Enter>, 12, <Enter>, and then <Esc> to continue.]
_Display
To save typing, we will type a few more fields for you.
_EndDisplay
City or town _______________ State <A > ZIP <A >
_Display 15
Note that "State" is an upper case field. Letters typed in this
field will be automatically converted to upper case, so that
"ga," "GA," and "Ga" all become "GA."
_Enddisplay
_Display 15
ZIP code is also an upper-case field, since numeric fields do not
keep leading zeroes, and they are important in ZIP codes.
_EndDisplay
_Display
You may wonder how Epi Info assigns names to the fields. The
ENTER program looks at the first ten characters of the question
phrase that precedes the field. "City or Town" will become
CITYORTOWN.
This is a rather awkward name for the variable you will manipulate
during analysis, but you can tell ENTER explicitly what names you
would like by placing curly brackets -- { and } -- around the
part of the question that contains the name.
_EndDisplay
[Go back and put curly brackets { } around "City" ]
_Display 15
Your questionnaire (after the heading) should look like this:
Last Name ____________ First Name ____________
{City} or town _______________ State <A > ZIP <A >
_EndDisplay
[If it doesn't, now is the time to go back and fix it.]
_Display 5
Now let's add an automatically incrementing identification number
and fields for age and sex.
_EndDisplay
ID <IDNUM> Age ### Sex <A> (M,F,U)
_Display 15
Now we add a code for disease and disease code. A later tutorial
will explain how to develop a code list and perform automatic coding,
but for now, let's assume that the disease name and a code will
be entered from the keyboard.
_EndDisplay
Disease <A > {Dis}ease {Code} ####
_Display 5
Note that the Disease field is an automatic upper case field and
that the second will be called DISCODE.
_EndDisplay
_Display 5
Let's add a date and a multiple-choice question.
_EndDisplay
Date <mm/dd/yy>
This is the date of:
1. Onset
2. Diagnosis
3. Laboratory Report
4. Report to Health Dept.
Date Type #
_Display 5
Note the single "#" sign for entering the code of the date type, and
the words "Date Type" preceding it so that the field will be called
DATETYPE.
_EndDisplay
_Display
Multiple-choice questions allow only one answer. If several choices
can be made, the "Yes/No" field is used. It serves the same function
as a check box, but allows answers of "Y", "N", and blank for unknown
or unsure.
Here are some Yes/No fields...
_EndDisplay
Food Handler <Y>
Day Care <Y>
Transfusion <Y>
Hospitalized <Y>
_Display 5
This questionnaire is brief, but it illustrates methods by which
much longer questionnaires can be created.
A separate program, called CHECK allows skip patterns, ranges,
automatic coding, legal values, and other more complex operations
during data to be specified. Our simple questionnaire is ready,
however to be used in the ENTER program to create a data file
and to enter data. We will save the questionnaire in EPED and
then transfer to ENTER to make the file.
_EndDisplay
[Press <F9> to save the file. Name it FIRST.QES. Press <Enter>, THEN <Esc>.]
:SAVEFILE
_IF EXISTFILE "FIRST.QES" then jump DONE
_Display
Something may have gone wrong, as there doesn't seem to be
a file called FIRST.QES. Are you sure you pressed <F9>
and gave the file that name? If not, you can still do
so by pressing <F2> and then pressing "S" for "Save As".
_EndDisplay
[Press <F2>, then S, then enter FIRST.QES]
_If not existfile FIRST.QES then jump SAVEFILE
:DONE
_Display
The questionnaire has been saved as FIRST.QES.
When you return to the main EPI6 menu, choose TUTORIALS and then
ENTERING DATA to continue this adventure.
Press <Esc> to continue...
_EndDisplay
_QUIT