WLS Codebooks

Note: Codebooks contain frequency data from the private data release. For some variables, these differ from the frequencies in the public release. Variables that differ between the public and private versions include "(not available on public release)" as part of the variable description, or a note indicating the difference between the public and private versions.

In Person: Cognition - Word Recall

JRECALL  Cognition - Word Recall Module

OVERVIEW

The Cognition - Word Recall Module, which was first administered to a randomly
selected 80% sub-sample during the 2004 collection wave, assesses cognitive
ability by asking participants to remember and orally repeat as many words as
they can from a set of ten. As a comparative test of immediate versus
time-delayed memory retention, participants were asked to repeat words from
their set both right after an interviewer had read them aloud as well as after
four subsequent survey modules had been completed. For the 2011 CAPI interview,
the exact same version of the Word Recall Task used in 2004 was once again
administered to a randomly selected 80% sub-sample. Prior to attempting the
task, selected participants were told:

    "Part of this study is concerned with people's memory. I'll read a set
    of 10 words and ask you to recall as many as you can. Please listen 
    carefully as I read the set of words. I'm not allowed to repeat any of 
    the words, so it's important that you can hear me very well. When I 
    finish, I will ask you to recall aloud as many of the words as you can,
    in any order. Is this clear?"

If the participant understood these instructions and agreed to attempt the Word
Recall Task, the interviewer proceeded to read them one of two possible sets of
ten words. Then, the participant was prompted to repeat as many of the words as
they could remember, with the interviewer recording their correct responses -
as well as flagging any words not on the original list - in order. Once the
participant finished stating remembered words, they were given positive
feedback (e.g. "thank you, you did well on that") and the first session of the
Word Recall Task was ended without any indication there would be a follow-up.
After four more survey modules (Volunteering, Care Giving, Internet Use, and
Alcohol) were completed and an average of nine minutes had elapsed,
participants who completed the first word recall session were reminded, "a
little while ago, I read you a list of words and you repeated the ones you
could remember." Then, they were instructed to, "please tell me any of the
words that you remember now," with their interviewer once again recording all
responses in order. At no point were participants informed as to the
correctness or incorrectness of their recalled words.

While the 2011 Cognition - Word Recall Module is highly comparable to its 2004
predecessor, data users should be aware of a few minor changes. First, the
interval between immediate and delayed sessions of the Word Recall Task was
slightly altered. Unlike in 2004, when the sessions were separated by six
survey modules taking an average of twelve minutes, the 2011 sessions were only
separated by four modules taking an average of nine minutes. Second, although
cases were flagged as "suspicious" and reviewed for a number of reasons in 2004
- a process represented to data users by 2004 analysis variables GI419RE,
GI420RE, GI459RE, and GI460RE - no similar inspection efforts were made in
2011; in other words, GI419RE, GI420RE, GI459RE, and GI460RE were not
replicated. Since the 2011 interview was conducted in-person rather than by
telephone, as in 2004, it was deemed unnecessary to closely check cases for
cheating or improper Word Recall Task administration. Instead, field
interviewers were expected to identify and report such issues to WLS staff, who
handled them on a case-by-case basis. Third and finally, when participants
finished repeating words for a session of the Word Recall Task in 2011, they
were coded as "inappropriate" (-2) on analysis variables for volunteering
additional words rather than "don't know / task complete" (-1), the coding
applied in 2004 (see HI421RE-HI432RE and HI461RE-HI477RE). For information
about the nature of the Cognition - Word Recall Module and our cognition data
at prior collection waves, please see Appendix G (CORs 825, 900, and 943). No
new documentation about the Word Recall Task was added to the appendix for the
2011 collection wave. 


BRIEF VARIABLE DESCRIPTIONS

    Variable ranges reference dataset/codebook order and are not necessarily 
    alphabetical.
    _____________________________________________________________________

    HIMMSTAT-HDELREL:  	    Module-Level Status Variables

    HI401RE:		    Random 80% Sub-Sampling Flag Dictating 
    			    Whether Word Recall Task Administered to
    			    Participant

    HI401REA:	  	    Flag for Outcome of Word Recall Task
    
    HI402RE:		    Set of Ten Words Read to Participant During 
    			    Administration of Word Recall Task

    HI403RE-HI412RE:        Indicators for Whether or Not Participant
    		            Remembered Each Word on Their List During
    		            Immediate Recall Session 

    HI413RE:                Number of Correct Words Participant Repeated
    			    During Immediate Recall Session 

    HI414RE:                Number of Incorrect Words Participant Said
    			    During Immediate Recall Session 
    
    HI416RE:                Time Elapsed Between Conclusion of Immediate
    			    Recall Session and Beginning of Delayed 
    			    Recall Session

    HI417RE:                Number of Words on List Participant Repeated
    			    During Delayed Recall Session But Did Not
    			    Repeat During Immediate Recall Session
    			    
    HI418RE:                Number of Words on List Participant Repeated
    			    During Immediate Recall Session But Did Not
    			    Repeat During Delayed Recall Session

    HI421RE-HI432RE:        Order of Words Participant Said During
    			    Immediate Recall Session

    HI447RE-HI456RE:        Indicators for Whether or Not Participant
    		            Remembered Each Word on Their List During
    		            Delayed Recall Session 

    HI457RE:                Number of Correct Words Participant Repeated
    			    During Delayed Recall Session 
    
    HI458RE:                Number of Incorrect Words Participant Said
    			    During Delayed Recall Session 

    HI461RE-HI477RE:        Order of Words Participant Said During
    			    Delayed Recall Session

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