Graphing Multi-year Analyses of TEDS

A combined file for the 1995-2000 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) is available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA)¹ using the archive's online data analysis system (DAS).² This file contains 9.6 million records and is useful for conducting geographic comparisons and analyzing changes over time.³ (The procedures described in this report only work with MS Internet Explorer, version 5 or higher.)

Access the SAMHDA homepage at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/SAMHDA, click on "Online Analysis," select Treatment Episode Data Set, and select the TEDS 1995-2000 concatenated file.⁴ For this exercise, then click on the button for "Run frequency or crosstabulation" and click on "Start."

• Heroin Flag (variable name herflg), which denotes whether heroin was mentioned as a drug of abuse at admission;
  
  
• Year (variable name year);
  
  
• Census Region (variable name region).

All variables and codes are specified in the online TEDS codebooks. Use region as the control variable to produce a separate table for each of the four Census regions, as well as a table that includes all four regions. The input screen is shown above (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Excerpt of Input Screen

Figure 2. Admissions Involving Heroin, All Regions: 1995-2000

Figure 3. Admissions Involving Heroin, West: 1995-2000

Figure 4. Admissions Involving Heroin, South: 1995-2000

Figure 5. Admissions Involving Heroin, Midwest: 1995-2000

Figure 6. Admissions Involving Heroin, Northeast: 1995-2000

1. Open Excel⁵ and cut and paste the row "Substance Mentioned" of each table into a spreadsheet. This will copy as two rows in Excel; one for the percentages and one for N of cases. This example will include percentages only; delete the N of cases rows from the spreadsheet. Add column and row titles. Figure 7 shows the cells to be graphed.
   
   

   Figure 7. Spreadsheet with Percentage of Heroin Admissions, by Year and Region: 1995-2000

2. Remain in the spreadsheet and click on the Chart Wizard icon. Select the "Standard Type" tab. Under "Chart Type," select "Line." Under "Chart Sub-type," the description of each chart sub-type displays when you click on each icon; select the graph "Line with markers displayed at each data value." (See Figure 8 for a completed screen for Step 1 of Chart Wizard.) Hit "Next."
   
   

   Figure 8. Selection of Chart Type

3. At the top of the next window, select the "Series" tab. At the bottom of the "Series" box, click "Add." Click in the "Name" box and enter "All regions" or cut and paste the label from the spreadsheet. In the "Values" box, delete the contents and click and drag across the columns in the spreadsheet for "All regions." This will insert the spreadsheet cells into the box. In the box "Category "X" axis labels," click and drag across the title row of the spreadsheet (1995-2000) or manually insert the years separated by commas.
   
   
4. Click the "Add" button again and repeat this procedure for all rows. The label for the X axis need only be entered for the first series. The percentages along the Y axis automatically adjust as more data are entered. (Figure 9 shows the completed screen for Step 2.) Click "Next" when data for all regions have been entered.
   
   

   Figure 9. Input of Source Data

5. On the next screen, under the "Titles" tab, insert a chart title and labels for the X and Y axis. See Figure 10. Click "Next" when all titles have been entered.
   
   

   Figure 10. Completion of Chart Options

6. The final step is to save the chart, either as an object within the same spreadsheet in or in a new spreadsheet. Figure 11 provides an example, while Figure 12 shows the completed graph. When finished, hit "Finish."
   
   

   Figure 11. Saving Chart Location

   
   
   

   Figure 12. Completed Graph

⁵ Excel 2002 was used to create this example.

The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. Approximately 1.6 million records are included in TEDS each year. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once. The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and RTI, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through April 1, 2002. Access the latest TEDS reports at: www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm Access the latest TEDS public use files at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/SAMHDA.htm Other substance abuse reports are available at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov

The DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.