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Re: SAMEHH=0 in 1997

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Dave Rodda (david_rodda@abtassoc.com) asks:

>>The AHS codebooks give values for SAMEHH as 1 (yes), 2 (no) and 3 (DK). But 12% of my new homeowner sample in 1997 has a value of zero. What does 0 mean and why does this only occur in 1997?<<

This is an error in the 1997 dataset, as is described in the AHS Data Users' FAQ (available on https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahs.html ):

"In 1997, the questionnaire instrument initialized the value of SAMEHH as 'zero' and then changed the value to either '1' (same household) or '2' (new household) as data was collected to determine the situation. Unfortunately, the instrument did not manage to identify all the possible locations that should have reset the value of SAMEHH, and so many households were left with the original default value of 'zero'. In fact in 1997, about two-thirds of the interviews had a value of 'zero' in SAMEHH. Research showed that these cases included both new and returning households, and there was no way for users to distinguish between the two."

Dav Vandenbroucke
Economist
U.S. Dept. HUD
david_a._vandenbroucke@hud.gov
202-708-1060 ext. 5890