SURVEY AND CENSUS DATA MANAGEMENT WITH CSPro
Jignasu Yagnik, Associate Professor
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Via Ahmedabad Airport & Indira Bridge),
P.O. Bhat 382 428, Dist. Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
ABSTRACT
Accuracy of survey/census data is essential for getting reliable results. Inaccurate data leads
to delays in generating outcomes and often lead to project failures. CSPro data management
system provides for validation and consistency checks of survey/census data during the data
feeding stage. Besides, it also comprises of tools necessary for basic tabulation of data. With
increased adoption of Laptops and enhancing penetration of Internet, CSPro can be used to
collect data without hard copies of survey instrument. This article discusses application and
features of CSPro for handling survey and census data
Keywords: CSPro ,Data Management
Acknowledgements: I sincerely thank the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Ms.Jeanne Cushing for a very fruitful raining on ISSA ( the predecessor of CSPro) during the workshop at Bangkok in 1988.
Introduction
Collection of single and multiple level data from respondents is an important activity for
conducting research. While many user-friendly software are available to facilitate analysis of
data, concerns regarding validation and consistency of data collected, prevail. Inconsistent
and invalid values lead to unreliable outcomes. In effect, the researcher fails to derive full
advantage of computer aided data analysis system. Often, it is necessary to have an integrated
data management system that can facilitate accurate digitisation of survey data along with
tools for tabulation. The checks and balances required during data entry of the survey data
are not confined to validity check for upper and lower limits of categorical responses. It is
mid-eighties, the Integrated System for Survey Analysis (ISSA) software, developed by
Westinghouse Electric Corporation for the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) with a
single, integrated development and data management environment, was launched. This tool
was available for DOS, UNIX and WINDOWS. After incorporating certain features of the
Integrated Microcomputer Processing System (IMPS) to ISSA, CSPro was developed and
launched by U.S. Census Bureau, Macro International, and Serpro, S.A in the year 2000. It is
public domain software, available at no cost. These organisations also provide support needed
by CSPro users. CSPro is an ideal alternative for data entry, editing and tabulation of
complex data collected for surveys and censuses.The tool also includes wizards to facilitate
creation of applications for needed to process the data. Besides version for PC operating
system, an Android compliant version is also available for Smartphone and Tablet users.
Version 6.0.1 is the latest release of CSPro.
Data Organisation
A record/section is a logical unit of related variables. The database system of CSPro is
designed to facilitate definition of data with hierarchical organisation. The data dictionary is
at the core of the system. It consists of unique identification details, other records and
variables. Records can be either single or multiple type. A „single‟ record type includes data
that can have only one instance e.g. identification number, age of respondent, household size
etc. A „multiple‟ record type is used to define entries that can have multiple instances, e.g.
data of household members like gender, age, education for each member; where the number
of instances will depend on number reported as household size. The hierarchical data
structure manages parent-child relationship and allows cross-checking between different
blocks of related data.
Data Entry Application
For entry of data, it is necessary to create a Data Entry application (see Figure 1a). Also
depicted in Figure-1b is the user interface of CSPro with four sections for a hypothetical
survey on Internet use. The value 10 under the column „Max‟ corresponding to the
section/record named „Family use‟ indicates that the family block of the survey can include
up to 10 family members. Other items with value 1 corresponding to „Max „ can have only
single instance per schedule/questionnaire. Subsequent to definition of sections/records, the
minimum values, allowed for each variable. Figure-2 depitcts two variables defined in the
Family block which can have 10 instances are 1) relation- relationship with the respondent
and 2) Share –Whether member shared internet connection with the respondent?
Figure-1a
Figure-2
Once the records/sections and varaibles/items are defined in the “Dicts Tab”, forms can be
automatically generated by clicking on the icon encircled in Figure-1b. To access the forms it
is necessary to go to the “Forms-Tab” shown within a rectangle in Figure-1b. The form
corresponding to the family block along with toolbar for form manipulation is shown as
Figure-3
Adding Logic:
After creation of the forms, logic for each variable can be incorporated by selecting the
variable in the left pane and clicking the icon encircled in Figure-3. Shown in Figure-4 is the
logic associated with the variable “useint –whether you use internet?” of the respondent‟s
background block. The logic specifies that if the person is not a user of internet, other
questions related to internet use should not be entered and the cursor should skip to the
question probing reasons for not using internet. After the logic for validation and consistency
is defined for all the variables, the entry application can be compiled by clicking the icon
embedded in a square and later it can be executed by pressing the icon encircled in the
Figure-4
Tabulation
As an integrated system CSPro includes module for generating tables from the data entered
using a tabulation application which can be created by starting CSPro and selecting the
Tabulation application (See, Figure-1). Univariate and bivariate statistics can be generated
through this application.
Data Export
For advanced statistical analysis, it is possible to export the data using “Export data” option
in the Tools menu of CSPro. Export formats available in CSPro are shown in Figure-5.
Figure-5
The user guides and manuals available for free download, provide in-depth and lucid
explanations of features in CSPro. The examples incorporated enable fast-track learning of
the software . The “getting started guide” is an excellent resource for beginners. User guide
for Android is also available. The website also provides videos to facilitate learning.
Conclusions
CSPro is a valueable resourse for managing complex data collected using survery/census.
Scholars willing to meticulously conduct analysis of data collected, may consider this
application. Although, a little coding is required to control the applications, the commands
are not difficult to understand and apply.
References:
i. http://www.census.gov/population/international/software/cspro/csprodownload.html
ii. CSPro User‟s Guide Version 6.0.1,
