This data file user's manual documents the procedures and methodologies employed during the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) base year. The manual is designed to provide guidance and documentation for users of the public-use data as released in Electronic Codebook (ECB) format (NCES 2004-404). Included in the manual are the following: an overview of the study and its predecessor studies; an account of instrumentation (both the assessment battery and the various questionnaires); documentation of the sample design, weighting, design effects, and analyses of data quality; a summary of the data collection methodology and results, including detailed response rates; a description of data preparation and processing activities; and an overview data file structure and contents. In addition, there are a number of appendices.
