Certain codes are completely absent in some variables
Some values such as "7 - Don't know" were converted to N/A at the discretion of the researcher who
converted the
initial dataset. We decided to keep the original code descriptions in place to make the codebook
compatible
with future additions to the dataset.
Some variables in the codebook are not in the data files
Yes, sadly the dataset is not complete. We are in the process of locating the rest of the data. If you
have VES data
that you would like to contribute it would be highly appreciated. Please contact us.
What does (C) behind some of the tags mean?
(C) means this tag is based on what file the data was extracted from. Tags without (C) were manually
assigned by the team using best judgement to create meaningful categories.
I found a mistake is the codebook
Please contact us and we will try to correct it.
Creating the codebook involved OCR scanning over 1000 pages and sadly mistakes are unavoidable.
Who conducted this study
The Vietnam Experience Study was conducted by the US Army and Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
following concerns about exposure to chemical warfare (Agent Orange).
Do I need to apply for the data?
No. All data is public for immediate use for any purpose. No registration is needed to use the dataset.
Who set up this website?
The website was set up by Emil Kirkegaard, in collaboration with
Helmuth
Nyborg.
Why doesn't the US army/CDC maintain the dataset?
We don't know!
Who can I contact if I found a problem?
How was the electronic dataset acquired?
Helmuth Nyborg acquired the data from the CDC in the 1990s on
data tape format, and converted it to a modern format.
What should I cite for using this resource?
You may cite the CDC's original summaries of the findings which are three papers:
- The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study. Health status of Vietnam veterans: I.
Psychosocial characteristics. Journal of the American Medical Association 1988;259:2701–7.
- The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study. Health status of Vietnam veterans: II.
Physical health. Journal of the American Medical Association 1988;259:2708–14.
- The Centers for Disease Control Vietnam Experience Study. Health status of Vietnam veterans:
III. Reproductive outcomes and child health. Journal of the American Medical Association
1988;259:2715–9.
You may cite the work to restore and release the dataset as:
- Kirkegaard, E. O. W. & Nyborg, H. (in prep). The Vietnam Experience open data repository.
Is the data in its original form?
The dates in the dataset were in SAS DATE format, these have been converted to ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD).
Two obvious data entry errors were also fixed, besides from that the dataset is original form.