SDA: Survey Documentation and AnalysisDocumentation
For video tutorials on using the SDA 4.0 user interface see the SDA YouTube Channel.Non-technical documents
Documentation and resources for developers of SDA Web archives
SDA Installation Guide/Archive Developer's Guide (PDF format)
The Installation Guide or Archive Developer's Guide is the first thing that all SDA archive developers should read. It provides a tutorial-style introduction to setting up an SDA archive on your server.SDA Manual (HTML format)
The SDA Manual contains in-depth information on the options available for each SDA program and the syntax rules for various important SDA file formats --such as DDL (SDA's metadata format).Other SDA Documentation and Resources
- SDA Quick Tables Installation and Configuration
- SledgeHammer can extract an SDA DDL (metadata) file and a matching ASCII data file from an SPSS, Stata, or SAS system file. It can also convert a DDI file (Version 2 or 3) to DDL. We recommend SledgeHammer to SDA users who need these capabilities. It is a commercial product but there are discounts available for government, academic, and non-profit groups. Also, there is a free version available for use with smaller datasets. See their Web site for more information.
- DDI to DDL Conversion Service. This online service on our site converts data description files in the format of the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) Version 2 to files in the format of SDA's DDL.
The old non-Web CSA system which preceded SDA is no longer being updated or maintained. However, documentation is still available including a general overview of the CSA system and documents on each CSA program.