User Guide for the TIMSS International Database.pdf - TIMSS and ...

D A T A B A S E F I L E S C H A P T E R 7
7.3 Codebook Files
All information related to the structure of the data files as well as the source, format, descriptive
labels, and response option codes for all variables discussed in Section 7.2 is contained in
codebook files. One codebook file is provided for each of the data files listed in Table 7.12.
Table 7.12
Population 1 and Population 2 Codebook Files
Data File Population 2 Population 1
Codebook Name Codebook Name
Student Written Assessment File BSACODE.* ASACODE.*
Student Background File BSGCODE.* ASGCODE.*
Teacher Background File(s) BTMCODE.* - Mathematics
BTSCODE.* - Science
ATGCODE.*
School Background File BCGCODE.* ACGCODE.*
Student - Teacher Linkage File BLGCODE.* ALGCODE.*
Student Written Assessment Reliability File BSRCODE.* ASRCODE.*
Student Performance Assessment File BSPCODE.* ASPCODE.*
Student Performance Assessment Reliability File BSQCODE.* ASQCODE.*
School Performance Assessment File BCTCODE.* ACTCODE.*
Codebook files are available in two different formats, differentiated by the file extension:
· ASCII Text Format (* = CDT)
· Machine-Readable ASCII Format (* = CDF)
7.3.1 Accessing the Codebook Files
Both codebook file types are included in the database CD in ASCII format. They can be read and
edited with any text editor or word processing software that can read files of their size. Each is
designed with a specific purpose in mind.
Printout Format (*.CDT)
The printout format is a text file containing the information from the codebook in a printout
format. This format can be read with any word processing software and printed after some minor
formatting. We suggest using a mono-spaced font, and a font size and page layout combination
that will accommodate 132 characters per line. The information for each variable is presented in
several lines of text. The lines for each variable are properly labeled.
T I M S S D A T A B A S E U S E R G U I D E 7 - 33