Instructions for creating a data dictionary using Data Dictionary Template.xls
Example to refer to:
Column/Field
Name Column/Field Description Field
Type
Field
Length
Value Label
RDATE Date From Completed D 10
PID Patient Identifier numeric N 3
FORM_1 Description of FORM_1 N 2
FORM_2 Description of FORM_2 D 10
FORM_3 Description of FORM_3 N 1 1 Yes
2 No
FORM_4 Description of FORM_4 N 2 1 < 1 year
2 1-2 years
3 3-4 years
4 5 years
5 > 5 years
88 Don't know
FORM_5 Description of FORM_5 C 30
FORM_6 Description of FORM_6 N 2 1 Yes
0 None
88 Don't know
Column/Field Name
• Come up with a unique variable name for each of your fields.
CTRIC standards
RDATE = the date of the form
PID = patient identifier
All other fields
Many statistical programs require that the variable name be less
than 8 characters. Keep this in mind when creating your
variable names
An easy system is to create an unique 4 letter acronym for each
form and then simply number each question in the order they
appear on the form (in the example above, the unique form is
identified as FORM).
Column/Field Description
• This is the more descriptive information to identify which field is which.
Use as many characters as needed
Field Type
• C = character or string
• D = date
