The Dasis Report (Drug and Alcohol Information System)
September 12, 2003

Introducing Quick Tables
In Brief


It is now easier to conduct data analysis online using the Web site for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA).1 SAMHDA recently added a new component to its online analysis capabilities called Quick Tables, which allows users to produce analytic tables by choosing variables from drop-down menus. Quick Tables is currently available with all Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) files. Below is an example.

Step 1: Select “Online Analysis” from the SAMHDA front page
(http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/SAMHDA).

Step 2: Select the Treatment Episode Data Set.

Step 3: Under the section labeled Quick Tables, select the TEDS 1992-2000 concatenated file. This produces a list of the available Quick Tables for the selected file (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. List of Available Quick Tables
Figure 1. List of Available Quick Tables


Step 4: Select desired Quick Table. For the example, select "Client Characteristics by Year."

Step 5: Left-click on the drop-down menus to select variables for the table.2 Custom Quick Tables may be generated for 11different client characteristics3 for an individual State or for all States combined. For the example, select "Employment Status" as the client characteristic and limit the table to Maryland. The completed input screen is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Completed Input Screen
Figure 2. Completed Input Screen


Step 6: Click the “Create the Table” button.4

Figure 3 shows the results, which are reported as percentages for each category, with an overall percentage for all years provided in the total column. The total number of clients (N) for each year is provided in the last row. The table shows that, in Maryland, admissions involving clients employed full time decreased from 39 percent in 1992 to 36 percent in 1995, and were then stable through 2000.

Figure 3. Quick Table Results for Maryland
Figure 3. Quick Table Results for Maryland


Admissions of clients who were unemployed were stable at 42 percent from 1992-1998, but decreased to 38 percent in 1999 and 2000. Admissions of clients who were not in the labor force increased from 12 percent in 1992 to 15 percent in 1995, and increased again to about 19 percent in 1999 and 2000. Admissions of those who were employed part time remained relatively stable, at 6 to 7 percent, throughout the period.

The explanation of results (see Figure 4) includes a test of statistical significance,5 descriptive information about the variables, and hypertext links leading to additional information. Under Dataset, select "perform other analyses" to go to the online data analysis system (DAS) for this file.6 See the "Return to" links at the bottom of the page or click the back button to run other Quick Tables.

Figure 4. Explanation of Results
Figure 4. Explanation of Results


Contact the SAMHDA staff for assistance with Quick Tables, the DAS, download help, or other issues related to the archive: (888) 741-7242 (toll-free helpline) or samhda@icpsr.umich.edu (e-mail).

 
End Notes
1SAMHDA is supported by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA through a subcontract with the National Organization for Research at the University of Chicago (NORC). SAMHDA is based at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan.
2The year variable is hard-coded for selected TEDS Quick Tables, including the one used for the example.
3These 11 client characteristics include gender, age group, race, ethnicity, education level, employment status, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, living arrangement, and primary source of income.
4Please note that the concatenated file is large (14.3 million records and 2.3 gigabytes). Therefore, the table may take several seconds to run.
5Due to the large number of cases in TEDS, most analyses will return statistically significant results. Therefore, interpretation is most usefully focused on substantive differences between categories.
6For help with the DAS, refer to earlier Short Reports:
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; ICPSR; 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 for the 1996-2000 files and through March 4, 2003 for the 1992-1995 files.

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 31, 2008.