Description/Contents: The Heart Health in Canada CD-ROM  is a compilation of data, and software for using that data. It includes key documents of the Heart Health Initiative; the complete Canadian Heart Health Database; and the DAIS data and information access package that integrates the data, information, and knowledge products of the Heart Health Database with those of other related data gathering programs.

Getting started: DAIS works with a full range of information resources, from a single variable or item in a data set to a completed analysis or knowledge product.  The various resources are thought of as information objects, and comprise fact sheets, data sets, code books, and groups.

The first step in using DAIS is to open one or more objects:
· Open fact sheets to get at the available analyses and research, or to go deeper into the underlying data presented from the perspective of analyses that have used it.
· Open data sets to get summary information about surveys and data sets that are available from them.
· Open code books to obtain information on the questions asked in a survey and the variables that are available for analysis.
· Open groups to get at sets of fact sheets or data items (questions or variables) that have already been grouped together in ways that have been found useful.  Groups may be set up by your system administrator (public groups) or by you (private groups) and may contain elements from a single survey or data set, or from many surveys.  Because of their usefulness, the last several groups used are listed on the File menu where they may be highlighted and clicked for quick access.

To open an object:
1 Click on File, then Open, then the object of your choice, as illustrated below (suggested for new users) or
2 Initiate a search for objects from within the Search Menu.

Sources of other documentation: main.pdf

Features/hints

Selecting: To select a code book for opening, click File, then Open , then code books.   This will invoke the code book open screen, which lets you browse through the lists of available code books, and to open those of interest.  Code books are grouped by category and sub category.

To open a specific code book:
1 Click on + to expand categories and sub categories; click on - to contract categories and subcategorizes.
2 Select the code book you want to view, and click on it OR click on the Open Code book Button at the bottom of the screen.  Note:  When the code book has opened, a window containing it will appear behind the open window.  You cannot access the code book until you close the open screen by pressing the ‘Done’ button.

3. Click on + to expand categories and sub categories: click on - to contract categories and sub categories.
4. Select the variable you want and click on Details to view.
5. Click on OK to close the dialogue box.

To select a fact sheet for opening, click on File, then Open, then Fact Sheets.
To open a specific fact sheet:

1. Click on + to expand a category or sub category; click on - to contract a category or sub category.
2. Highlight the title of the fact sheet and double click the title or click on the Open Fact Sheet button at the bottom of the screen.

4. Click on the folder tabs to view various information; View to initiate Acrobat Reader to open the Canadian Heart Initiative, Canadian Heart Health Database, and User Support and Licensing texts, and OK or Cancel to close. To select a data set for opening, click File, then  Open , then Data sets.   This will invoke the data set open screen, which lets you browse through the lists of available data sets or surveys, and to open those of interest. Data sets are grouped by category and sub category.

To open a specific data set:
1. Click on + to expand categories and sub categories; click on - to contract categories and subcategorizes.
2. Select the data set you want to view and click on it OR click on the Open Data set  button at the bottom of the screen.  Note:  When the Data set has opened, a window containing it will appear behind the open window.  You cannot access the data set window until you close the open screen by pressing the ‘Done’ button.
Click on the folder tabs to view various information; click on Code books to read variable information from the various data sets, and Groups to to view sets of fact sheets or variables that have been grouped together (by the system administrator or by the user)  and saved for future use.

To extract a subset of data to be delivered to a disk or server for statistical analyses:
1. Create a group containing the data sets and variables that you want to extract.
2. From the Group menu, click on Extract Wizard and let it guide you through the process.  In most instances, the extract process is fully automated.  You will need to select the data set(s) and variables you want, as above, specify the statistical package to be used and the subset of cases to be included.  The Extract Wizard  will generate an extract program for that statistical package and run it.
3. When the extract is finished, take over with the statistical package to do the analyses that you need, and save the file.  Once you close the statistical package, control returns to DAIS, where you can do another extract, print a custom code book for your data subset, and so forth.

Manipulating: A variable or fact sheet in a group can be marked using the Mark on Double Click option, or by means of Group Edit operations.  Marked variables and fact sheets are prefixed with a ‘+’ sign, and can be examined, copied, or deleted together by means of the  Marked option on the Group menu.  Marking provides a convenient way of refining or manipulating the contents of groups.

Downloading: To save an object (such as a group of variables or fact sheets) by overwriting the original object, click Save. To save a changed version of an object (such as a group of variables or fact sheets),  without altering the original object, click Save As. If  Save As  is not highlighted on the File menu, there is no active eligible object. If  Save As is selected, or if the group is being saved for the first time, the following screen will appear. Type in the name of the object, and either type in or select the desired category and sub category for storing the object. Note:  If multiple objects are open, the save will apply to the active window.  If Save is not highlighted, there is no active window containing an object that can be saved. Saved objects are private, and are saved to your local files.

Printing: Select Print from the file menu to produce printed reports concerning surveys in the metabase, and data sets.

Exiting: Before exiting DAIS, close all windows. Select 'Exit' from the file Menu to close DAIS.

Cheat Sheet by: Daniel Warchow.
Data Library, University of Toronto.
Date: 05/08/99.