Core (required) demographic variables that should be collected for any normative data base
| Recommended Core (Required) Variables | CDE Variable Name | Permissible Values | Notes, Including Those from the CDE Web Site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Age value | 0–120 yr? | For children younger than 1 year born at <36 weeks' gestation, it is recommended to also collect gestational age. Because of potential violation of privacy legislation and specifically HIPAA regulations, the calculated age should be recorded rather than using the actual date of birth. |
| Gender | Gender type | Female, male, unknown, unspecified, not reported | Note that “gender” refers to self-reported gender of the participant. Gender is the socially constructed identity of sex and is equated with phenotypic sex. Gender may differ from the sex of an individual determined genetically. The use of “gender” as opposed to “sex” is to facilitate the ease of self-report data collection. |
| Handedness | Hand preference type | Left hand, right hand, both hands, unknown | Hand which the participant/subject uses predominantly, not necessarily the hand he/she writes with exclusively |
| Race | Race USA category | American Indian or Alaska native, Asian, black or African-American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, white, unknown, not reported | The patient's self-declared racial origination, independent of ethnic origination, using OMB-approved categories. We note that these may not be applicable to all non-USA regions. |
| Ethnicity | Ethnicity USA category | Hispanic or Latino, not Hispanic or Latino, unknown, not reported | Category of ethnicity the participant/subject most closely identifies with. We note that these may not be applicable to all non-USA regions. |
| Socioeconomic status | Education level USA-type | Never attended/kindergarten only; 1st grade; 2nd grade; 3rd grade; 4th grade; 5th grade; 6th grade; 7th grade; 8th grade; 9th grade; 10th grade; 11th grade; 12th grade, no diploma; high school graduate; GED or equivalent; some college, no degree; associate degree: occupational/technical/vocational program; associate degree: academic program; bachelor's degree (eg, BA, AB, BS, BBA); master's degree (eg, MA, MS, MEng, MEd, MBA); professional school degree (eg, MD, DDS, DVM, JD); doctoral degree (eg, PhD, EdD); unknown | Highest grade or level of school participant/subject has completed or the highest degree received. Note that for children, these should reflect the highest education level of the primary caregiver. |
| Job classification category | Official/manager, professional, technician, sales worker, administrative support worker, craft worker, operative, laborer/helper, service worker, social worker, unknown, none | Category that classifies work performed by participant or, in the case of children, the work performed by the primary caregiver. | |
| Family income range | $15,000 to $24,999, $25,000 to $34,999, $35,000 to $49,999, $50,000 to $74,999, $75,000 to $99,999, ≥$100,000, refused, unknown, <$15,000; | Range, in US dollars, of the annual pretax, prededuction total income, of the household of which the participant/subject is a member | |
| Academic achievement | Education service type | Special education, regular education, none, unknown, early intervention | Type of educational services received (as a child) |
Note:—GED indicates General Educational Development; HIPPA, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; OBM, Office of Budget and Management.