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Development Research Group, Development Economics, World Bank

ADePT

Version 4.1

Users Guide
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Table of Contents
1. System Requirements............................................................................................................................ 4 1.1 1.2 1.3 2. Hardware requirements ................................................................................................................ 4 Software requirements .................................................................................................................. 4 Installation of ADePT ................................................................................................................... 5

How does ADePT work? ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Starting and closing ADePT ......................................................................................................... 7 How does ADePT work? ............................................................................................................... 9 Loading data into ADePT ........................................................................................................... 10 Specifying variables in ADePT ................................................................................................... 13 Using compound fields in ADePT ............................................................................................... 16 Generating tables and graphs ..................................................................................................... 18

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The Output of ADePT ......................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 3.2 3.3 ADePT System messages window ............................................................................................... 19 Error diagnostics in ADePT ....................................................................................................... 20 Understanding the output of ADePT ........................................................................................... 22

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Common tasks ..................................................................................................................................... 25 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Generating tables on a subsample of observations..................................................................... 25 Generating tables of frequencies and tables with standard errors ............................................. 29 Describing complex survey design in ADePT ............................................................................. 30 Defining missing values in ADePT ............................................................................................. 30 Specifying expressions in variables fields ................................................................................... 32 Simulations with ADePT ............................................................................................................. 33

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Adjusting the settings of ADePT ........................................................................................................ 35 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Using ADePT with different languages ...................................................................................... 35 ADePT computational engine ..................................................................................................... 37 Viewer for ADePT output files .................................................................................................... 38 Selecting the computational engine and output viewer............................................................... 38

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Working with Projects in ADePT ....................................................................................................... 39 6.1 6.2 Using ADePT project files on a different computer .................................................................... 41 Replicating the results obtained with ADePT ............................................................................. 41

7.

Using ADePT in a batch mode ........................................................................................................... 41 2

8. 9.

Updating ADePT ................................................................................................................................ 43 Troubleshooting ADePT ..................................................................................................................... 44 9.1 9.2 Problems during installation ...................................................................................................... 44 Debug mode ................................................................................................................................ 45

Appendix 1: List of data checks .................................................................................................................. 46 Appendix 2:................................................................................................................................................. 46 2.1. Data conversion ................................................................................................................................... 46 2.2. Assigning and using labels in ADePT ................................................................................................. 47 Appendix 3: Portable ADePT ..................................................................................................................... 48 Index............................................................................................................................................................ 49

1. System Requirements
1.1 Hardware requirements CPU: ADePT works on any modern computer. Faster CPUs will reduce the time required for ADePT to process jobs. ADePT can use the power of multi-processor computers when used with Stata MP.

Disk space:

ADePT requires 40 MB of disk space to install. However, running ADePT creates temporary copies of your datasets 25% to 50% larger than the originals, so how much disk space you require will ultimately depend on how large your datasets are.

Memory:

ADePT requires a minimum of 512 MB of RAM to operate. In general it is a good idea to have twice the amount of physical memory that you will need for your datasets. If you are using a dataset that is more than 700 MB then you may want to use 64-bit Stata and increase memory.

Display:

ADePT requires at least 1024x768 screen resolution.

Internet Connection: ADePT does not require an active Internet connection for generating output results. An Internet connection is needed for program updates. 1.2 Software requirements Operating System: ADePT requires Microsoft Windows operating system. The minimum required operating system is Microsoft Windows XP. ADePT will work on Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and later, and Microsoft Windows 7. It works in both 32- and 64-bit Windows environments. ADePT will not work on MAC OS or Linux operating systems. .Net Framework: ADePT requires Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 or later. Most recent Microsoft operating systems come with .Net Framework, or will allow for its installation. To check whether your computer has .Net Framework installed, navigate Windows Explorer to the folder where Windows is installed (typically C:\Windows\), then proceed to folder Microsoft .Net, then to Framework. There will be several subfolders in this folder with names like 1.0.3705,
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1.1.4322, and so on. The largest version shows the newest version of .Net Framework installed. If you do not have any of these folders on your disk, your computer does not have Microsoft .Net Framework. If your system does not contain .Net Framework 2.0 or later, please download and install .Net Framework from Microsofts website. At the time of this writing, .Net Framework 3.5 is the latest available version. It can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. Note: installation of Microsoft .Net requires administrator rights. Computations: ADePT uses the Stata computational engine to perform all calculations. ADePT can use Stata version 10 or later (all flavors except Small Stata) or Numerics by Stata (included in ADePT) for calculations. Both Stata and Numerics by Stata are products of StataCorp LP: http://www.stata.com. Microsoft Excel for Windows (version XP or later) is required to display ADePTs results. The free Microsoft Excel Viewer can also be used to view the results generated by ADePT.

Output viewer:

1.3 Installation of ADePT ADePT 4.1 installation file www.worldbank.org/adept. adept_install.exe is available from our web page:

To save this file to disk, right-click it with the mouse, select <Save target as> from the menu, and specify the folder on your disk where you want it to be saved. After the file is downloaded, execute it. ADePT installation will display the License Agreement.

You have to accept the license agreement in order to proceed. The installation wizard then asks where ADePT should be installed. Note that you must have permission to write to this directory during installation and when it is running. Use the <Browse> button to specify the folder or type the path in the Destination Folder box.

Click the <Install> button to start copying the files. After installation (message Completed is in the messages window), you can close the installation wizard.

The ADePT program will start automatically after the installation succeeds. To start ADePT the next time, click on the ADePT icon in the ADePT Software program group in the Windows Start menu.
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2. How does ADePT work?


2.1 Starting and closing ADePT To start ADePT, go to the Windows Start menu and select the ADePT icon from the ADePT Software program group. You can also create a shortcut to ADePT on your desktop. To do this, use your mouse to drag the link to ADePT from the Start menu and drop it to your desktop.

On start, ADePT provides a choice of modules currently available. Users who work mostly with one module can suppress this choice by unchecking the corresponding check box in the module choice window. In this case, ADePT will automatically load the last used module when it starts. To switch to a different module, use <Select module> item in the <Modules> menu of ADePT(Menu Bar [6]).

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Data/Variables Window Main Form Window Table and Graph Window Table Description/System Messages Window 5. Process Indicator 6. Menu Bar 7. Datasets Tab 8. Global Filter Tab 9. Variables Tab 10. Dataset Control Buttons 11. Datafile Type Control 12. List of Loaded Datasets 13. Show Changes Controls

14. Variables Tab 15. Parameters Tab 16. Missing Values Tab 17. Survey Settings Button 18. Status Bar 19. Selected Table Statistics 20. Table and Graph Tree 21. Frequencies and Standard Errors Check Boxes 22. Table Description Tab 23. System Messages Tab 24. IF-condition Field 25. IF-condition Set/Clear Button 26. Generate/Stop Button

ADePT can be closed by selecting the <Exit> item in the <File> menu [6] or by clicking the cross-button in the windows header. It cannot be closed when the computations are running, but the computations can be interrupted with the <Stop> button [26]. On closing, ADePT remembers the size of its window, the last used module, and the settings and content of the input fields. At the next start the user finds the program in the same state as it was when ADePT was closed. The content of the input fields saved only if tables were successfully produced. 2.2 How does ADePT work? ADePT is a software platform designed to produce sets of tables and graphs based on the microlevel data. It consists of modules, each generating tables in graphs in a particular area of economic research. To produce the desired set of results a user needs to: 1. Start ADePT. 2. Load datasets (one or several) into ADePT. 3. Fill in the Main Form [2]. 4. Set the auxiliary parameters. 5. Select tables and graphs to create [19]. After the required inputs are specified, the user presses the <Generate> button [26] to generate the output. From that point ADePT works automatically, informing the user about the progress and detected problems. There are several stages in this process. First, ADePT prepares the data based on the users specifications. The two (optional) steps here are recoding of missing values [16] (see Defining Missing Values in ADePT) and applying a global filter [8], which restricts the data to a subset of observations satisfying certain conditions (see Generating tables on a subsample of observations). Next, ADePT checks whether variables entered by the user correspond to the requirements defined for each particular variable. While doing that, ADePT checks whether the entered variables are of a correct type (categorical, continuous, dummy, etc.) and have a proper number of unique values, and conducts consistency checks on particular variables (see Data checks in ADePT). This process is repeated for all datasets loaded into ADePT. In the next stage, ADePT checks the consistency of categories for the variables defined in different files. For example, ADePT checks whether the variable entered into the region field in the first year file contains the same number of categories as that variable in the second year file. ADePT signals to the user with error messages, warnings, and notifications (see Error diagnostics in ADePT) about all the problems that it finds with the input data. If a problem is found in a particular variable, its name is highlighted in the Main Form [2].

In the next stage, ADePT generates temporary variables required for calculations. It tries to use information specified by the user to produce variables that are consistent with each other. For example, ADePT calculates household size and household composition variables from the variables defining household ID and age and gender of household members. By doing so, ADePT makes sure that all tables in a particular module are internally consistent (i.e., numbers in one table do not contradict the numbers in other tables). Finally, ADePT begins producing tables and graphs. ADePT computational kernel conducts calculations and then sends the results of these calculations to the formatting routine that writes every table and graph on a separate sheet of an output workbook. When all tables and graphs are generated, ADePT instructs the output viewer, MS Excel, MS Excel Viewer, or some other program, to open the file with tables and graphs (see Viewer for ADePT Output files). The next sections of this manual discuss all the above steps in detail. 2.3 Loading data into ADePT

ADePT can process data in Stata (.dta) or SPSS (.sav) formats. To load a dataset into ADePT press the <Add> button [10] and select the dataset you want to load in the Open dataset dialog. Click the <Open> button and the name of the selected dataset appears in ADePTs Datasets tab [7]. The full path of the selected dataset and information about the number of variables and observations in the dataset as well the size of the dataset is shown in the Status bar [18].

You then need to specify a label for this dataset. The label will be used in the tables and graphs to distinguish the statistics generated from different datasets.
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The label could be any word or number, but we recommend labeling datasets with the numeric date corresponding to the time of data collection. Several statistics produced by ADePT use this information to calculate the time span between the surveys. For example, you might want to label the dataset from the 2002 survey with the label 2002 and the dataset from the 2005 survey with the label 2005. Then ADePT will calculate the difference of three years between these two surveys and will be able to calculate the annualized rates of changes for generated statistics. Repeat this process if you want to load more than one dataset into ADePT. Depending on the module, you can load one or several datasets into ADePT. In some modules, if more than one dataset is loaded you can ask ADePT to produce, in addition to the statistics for each loaded dataset, the output with the changes between any two time periods. Click the <Show changes between periods> check box [13] and select the datasets between which you want the changes to be outputted. The datasets in the drop-down lists are identified by their labels.

Depending on the module, you might also need to specify whether the datasets you are loading contain individual- or household-level data [11]. The observations in the individual-level files contain information about individual respondents. Each household could be represented by several records/observations for the members of this household. In the household-level data, each record/observation corresponds to a single householdthere is only one observation per household. Note that this is not an arbitrary parameter and it must correspond to the structure of the data you are loading. If an individuallevel dataset is loaded in ADePT and you specify its type as a household-level dataset, the statistics calculated by ADePT will be incorrect. To select the type of the data you are loading into ADePT, click a corresponding dataset control radio button on the top of the Datasets Tab [7].
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You can adjust this setting after the data is loaded but before the analysis has begun. Note that the set of required variables might differ depending on whether an individual- or household-level of data is specified. This is because ADePT is trying to ask as few questions as possible and depending on the type of the dataset can find some of the required information itself. If you use Stata as a computational engine for ADePT (as opposed to Numerics by Stata), the list of Dataset control buttons [10] on the left-hand side will change. You can now open the selected dataset in Stata by pressing the <Open in Stata> button. You can use Stata to, for example, browse the observations in the dataset, modify existing data and create new variables, etc.

You can remove a dataset from the list of datasets loaded in ADePT by pressing the <Remove> button [10]. Removing all datasets from the list will deactivate the ADePT interfaceneither variable fields nor tables and graph trees are accessible. The content of the loaded datasetthe names of the variables and the variables labelscould be shown in the Variables tab [9] located behind the Dataset tab [7]. The Variables tab [9] shows the content of the dataset that is currently selected. The tab title shows the label of the selected dataset. You can search for a particular text in variables names

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and labels by using the search field located on the bottom of the tab (see Specifying variables in ADePT).

2.4 Specifying variables in ADePT After you load data, the next step is to tell ADePT what variables in the loaded datasets correspond to the fields required to produce the output. In other words, you need to map variables in your data to the fields on the Main Form [2]. Each module of ADePT has its own set of fields, but the process of defining the fields is similar across the modules. ADePT does not require predefined names to be specified in the input fields. Users can enter any variable name from the loaded dataset. For example, if a dataset variable S10_Q12 indicates urban locations, this name should be entered into the field that requires an urban indicator. In another dataset a variable for urban locations could be named CITY and this name should be entered in the urban indicator field. The only assumption ADePT makes is that the variables are named consistently if multiple datasets are loaded. In other words, if the user specified S10_Q12 as an urban indicator, this variable should exist and have this meaning in all loaded datasets. ADePT checks if this assumption is true and reports to the user if the varialbe is missing in any of the loaded datasets. There are four types of inputs on the ADePT forms: 1. Fields for variables of different types: a. Continuous variables: in ADePT, a variable is considered to be continuous if it has more than 50 distinct numeric values. An example of a field that requires a continuous variable is the Welfare aggregate field on the Poverty Module. b. Categorical variables: a categorical variable in ADePT is a numerical or string variable containing less than 50 distinct and integer values. If a string value is entered in such a field, ADePT generates a numerical variable with categories

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corresponding to the distinct values in the string variable. An example of a categorical variable field is Sector of employment in the Labor module. c. Dummy variables: a dummy variable in ADePT is a variable with only two distinct values. The fields requiring dummy variables accept a numerical dummy variable or a logical expression based on an existing variable in the users dataset (see Specifying expressions in variables fields). An example of a dummy variable field is the Gender field in Poverty or Labor modules. 2. Compound fields are used when a user is asked to specify not only a name for the variable but also to provide some additional information on that variable. The compound fields contain several controls to define multiple characteristics of a variable. The compound fields are used, for example, in the Programs tab of SP module, or in the Missing Values tab (see Using compound fields in ADePT). 3. Other parameter inputs are used to set scalar parameters: as in other Windows programs, check boxes are used to specify binary options (for example, whether the missing values should be recoded according to the user-specified rules) and spin-edits allow entering of numerical parameters, such as duration of primary schooling, in the Education module. Note that some fields allow multiple variables to be specified. For example, one or two poverty lines can be specified in the Poverty module, and even more variables can be specified in the household ID field in various ADePT modules. Some of the ADePT fields allow specifying multiple variables that will be treated as a list. Consider, for example, the household ID field. The typical household ID variable can be of two types. First is a household ID that determines which household the observations belong to regardless of the values of other variables. This is the type of household ID that ADePT expects. In some datasets, however, a household is identified not by household ID alone, but also by taking into account other variables, such as the regional identifier. This can be the case when the household IDs were assigned independently by interviewers in different regions, and thus overlaps in ID values between different households become possible (however, there is no overlaps within each region). In this situation, specify all the variables that allow one to uniquely identify a household in the household ID field of ADePT. In the variables lists, separate the individual variables with whitespaces. In the example below, if regno is the variable containing the region codes and the ID is the variable holding the household identifiers within each region, we would specify: HHID=regno id. ADePT will process this list of variables internally and create its own household ID variable, which would identify each household in the loaded datasets. Note that when you drag and drop variables from the list of variables to ADePT fields that support multiple variables specification they will not replace the value, which is already there, but be appended to it.

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The Main Form [2] with variable fields is located below the Datasets tab [7]. When the cursor is positioned in a field on the Main Form [2], the Status bar [18] shows the description and the requirements for the variable to be specified in that field; it tells the user what variable is expected to be specified in this field, its type, and whether or not the variable is a required variable in the current module.

At the same time, the list of variables in the current dataset will be shown above the Main Form [2]: the Datasets [7] tab changes to the Variables tab [9], which displays the names and labels of the variables in the loaded datasets. The tab shows the content of the currently selected dataset (first dataset in the list by default) and the tab title shows the label of the selected dataset. Drag and drop the selected variables into the corresponding fields on the Main Form [2]. Note that the type of the selected variable (numeric or string) and its name and label are shown in the Status bar [18].

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You can search for any part of the variable name or label using the search filter field. For example, typing ur selects variables with names or labels that contain the string ur. To clear the search filter, delete all the characters in the search field.

You can also use a drop-down list in the field to specify a variable. Alternatively, you can type the variable name into the field. We recommend using the drag-and-drop method from the Variables tab [9] because this method is fast and more convenient for the datasets that contain a large number of variables, and it reduces the possibility of errors when entering the variable names. The drop-down lists take a long time to navigate if the loaded datasets contain a large number of variables. The direct manual entry of variable names could lead to misspelled variable names and thus in errors in ADePT execution, but typing into the variable field is the only way to specify expressions in the fields (see Specifying expressions in variables fields). Note that variable names are case sensitive and should be specified exactly as they are in the dataset. If several datasets are loaded, ADePT can disable drag-and-drop capabilities for variables that are not present in all datasets. These variables are then shown in grey (disabled) in the Variables tab. This check is activated with the <Enable only common variables> check box on the Variables tab.

2.5 Using compound fields in ADePT Several modules of ADePT use compound fields. The idea behind these fields is to allow the management of several input elements as a single unit within ADePT. For example, in the Social Protection module we specify the program type, program name, and benefits amount as a single element in a list of programs. ADePT treats this information as referring to a single unit: an element of a list, a program, etc. While the properties of the compound fields might be different for the different modules, all compound fields have common elements and behavior.

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The compound fields always contain two or more elements, one of which is a field where the user has to provide a variable name. You can drag and drop a variable from the Variables tab [9] to fill this field. To be able to add a unit to the list, fill in all required elements of that unit and press the <Add> button. For example, the Missing Values tab [16] contains a compound field managing the user-specified list of missing values. Each unit in the list contains two elements: the names of the variables to be recodedfield Variable(s); and the values that should be replaced to missing field Missing Value(s). Both elements are required; the user needs to specify a variable name and enter a missing value to append the list. Elements already in the list can be removed with the <Remove> button.

Similarly to the simple variable fields, compound fields can be required for analysis. It is important to make a distinction between required elements of a list unit and the whole compound field that is required. An element is required if a unit cannot be posted in the list without this element being specified. All, some, or none of the elements may be required. The whole compound field is considered required if ADePT cannot conduct any analysis without the field filled in. A compound field is considered filled if it contains at least one unit. For example, the missing values compound field contains two required elements but is not a required field itself (analysis can be done even if the list is empty). For the programs list in the Social Protection module, not all of the three elements (Type, Variable, Label) of a program are required, but the field (a program) is requiredno analysis can be done if no social protection program is specified.

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2.6 Generating tables and graphs After you load your data into ADePT and specify the corresponding variables you can select tables and graphs for ADePT to generate [20]. The choice of tables and graphs is done in a treelike structure where they are grouped together by topic. Each table or graph in ADePT requires particular variables to be specified and some options to be selected. For example, a table that shows the distribution of poverty rates by geographic regions requires three variables to be specified: welfare aggregate, poverty line(s), and the variable that identifies the region. If one of these variables is not specified, the table cannot be created. The title of the Table and Graph window [3] in ADePT shows the total number of tables and graphs in the module (the Poverty module, for example, contains 38 tables and graphs), the number of feasible tables, and the number of selected tables [19]. The feasible tables (the tables that are possible to generate) are displayed in black while inactive tables are displayed in grey. The tables stay inactive if any of the variables required for these tables are not specified.

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The Table Description tab [22] below the Table and Graph window [3] shows a description for the currently highlighted table, which describes the table layout and its intended use. If this table is feasible, select the table by checking the check box next to the tables title. You can select multiple tables/graphs by checking the boxes next to the title of a corresponding group of tables/graphs. ADePT will select all feasible tables/graphs in this group. After you select tables and graphs you want to produce, press the <Generate> button [26] to start processing the data. The progress of computations will be displayed in the ADePT System Messages tab [23] and by the rotation of the ADePT Process indicator icon [5] in the top left corner of ADePT window. On pressing, the green <Generate> button changes into the red <Stop> button that can be used to interrupt the computations [26].

No tables or graphs are outputted if the <Stop> button [26] is pressed.

3. The Output of ADePT


3.1 ADePT System messages window The ADePT Table Description/System messages window [4] is located below the Table and Graph window [3]. ADePT uses the System Messages tab [23] to display information on the data processing to show errors and warnings, and to indicate the progress of output generation. To define the level of reporting in the System Messages window, on the Menu bar click Tools Options [6] and select the Reporting tab.

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There are three levels of reporting the user can select on that tab. If the default level of reportingMain messages and current statusis selected, ADePT displays only the main messages on the progress of data checking, data preparation, and data analysis, and reports warnings and error messages. We recommend using this level of reporting in your work. Two other levels of reportingDetailed messages and progress indication and Service messages (debug mode)are designed mostly for troubleshooting ADePT and are rarely used. To change a font or to clear the content of the System Messages window, right-click on the window and select a desired optionClear Output and Select Fontfrom the menu. You may find the option of changing the font useful for presentations when you need to make text larger than normal. 3.2 Error diagnostics in ADePT ADePT conducts an extensive data diagnostic and checks whether the variables specified in the fields satisfy the required conditions. There are three levels of problem/error reporting in ADePT: a. Notifications b. Warnings c. Errors Notifications, Warnings, and Errors are outputted during computations in the ADePT System message and after the computations are completed in the Notification sheet of the ADePT output file.

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Notifications have an informational purpose. They convey to ADePT users information about the processing of the data and report names of the loaded data files. Notifications have no impact on the content of tables and graphs to be outputted. The example of a notification could be a message that informs a user that no weight variable is defined and tables and graphs are produced on unweighted data. Notifications also serve as a reminder to the user what parameter values were used during the analysis that are not contained within the users dataset but reflect the users assumptions. For example, if the user specifies that the duration of primary school is five years, this value will be outputted as a notification. ADePT issues a warning if it detects a suspicious situation in the data but cannot be sure that this is an impossible situation; for example: a. A particular observation violates assumptions imposed by the parameters of ADePT: e.g., there are pupils found reporting that they are attending the 5th grade of the primary school, whereas the duration of primary schooling was specified to be equal to 4. b. A particular value of a categorical variable seems too far off compared to other values of this variable (an outlier); ADePT cannot be sure that this value is not legitimate. c. Inconsistent information is found within a single dataset that is flagged by the checking procedures; e.g., ADePT might discover that a two-year-old child is reported to be employed. d. Inconsistent definitions of categories between several rounds of the survey, e.g., a variable that contains code for the regions might contain a different number of unique values in the datasets collected for the same country in two years. When a warning is issued, no actions are takenADePT uses all non-missing observations in the loaded datasets to produce tables and graphs. Warnings just inform the users about potential problems with the data.

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ADePT reports an error if the problem it has found prevents the use of the variable in the analysis, for example, a variable does not exist in one of the datasets. In this case, after reporting an error ADePT continues as if the variable was not specified. When ADePT can determine the source of the problem in a particular variable field, this field is highlighted on the form. Problems may be resolved in one of two ways: adjusting the parameters/input of ADePT, e.g., checking that parameters of the educational system agree with the actual situation in the country under consideration, and adjusting the input datasetsthe user needs to use Stata or SPSS to correct such problems. Notifications, warnings, and errors are just as important as the results that ADePT produces and should be carefully reviewed before any conclusions are made from the tables and graphs. Please refer to Appendix 1 for the complete list of data checks ADePT performs. 3.3 Understanding the output of ADePT After the user clicks the <Generate> button [26] on the main form, ADePT writes the generated tables and graphs into a new MS Excel xml-type file. Each output filea workbookcontains: a sheet with a table of contents. a sheet with notifications. sheets with requested tables and graphs. The first sheet (Contents) in this workbook displays a table of contents that lists all tables and graphs contained in this output file produced by ADePT, and indicates to the users if any of the requested tables or graphs have not been created because of an error. ADePT also reports on the Contents sheet the time it took to generate the current output.

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In addition to the table of contents, ADePT always produces a Notifications sheet that contains error, warning, and notification messages about the problems discovered during the preparation of this output file (see Error diagnostics in ADePT). To alert users about encountered problems, the color of the Notification tab changes from neutral to yellow if it contains any warnings and to red if it contains any error messages. The rest of the output file comprises sheets with requested tables and graphs. Each table and graph is placed on its own sheet. The list of tables and graphs in every module of ADePT contains the Original Data Report table that provides basic information on datasets and variables loaded in ADePT. In particular, for each variable specified by the user, this table presents information on: the number of nonmissing observations; mean, minimum, maximum, and selected percentiles; and the number of unique values in the variable. It provides useful information about the data loaded into ADePT and, in many cases, can help resolve problems related to the discrepancy of the results generated on different datasets. We always recommend producing and carefully reviewing the Original Data Report before starting analysis of the data with ADePT.

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If tables of standard errors or frequencies are requested, they are placed on their own sheets (see Generating tables of frequencies and tables with standard errors). The structure of these tables replicates the structure of the main tables, with the additional information of standard errors or frequencies. Thus, each table in ADePT can be produced in three versions: Sheet contents Main print-ready tables Same as main, with standard errors Frequencies Color of the tab neutral green blue

ADePT formats the output, but all data are stored with full precision, which facilitates further analysis.

To navigate through the ADePT output you can click on the title of a table or graph in the table of contents, or scroll through and select the sheet of the workbook where the table or a graph is saved. If some of the tables were not created because of errors, you can open the Notifications sheet with the description of these errors by pressing on the NOTE about the error.

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4. Common tasks
4.1 Generating tables on a subsample of observations You can focus your analysis on a particular subpopulation either in all or in some tables/graphs. The Global Filter [8] is used to keep in the analysis only those observations that satisfy certain requirements. Its effect propagates to all tables and graphs in an active module and has the highest priority in ADePT. The Global Filter tab [8] is located next to the Datasets tab [7] in the Data/Variables window [1] and becomes visible when at least one dataset is loaded into ADePT. The tab contains a check box, Apply the filter, and the field for a logical condition to be used in keeping observations for analysis. You can specify any valid Stata logical expression in that field (see Specifying expressions in variables fields). When an expression for the Global Filter is specified, ADePT keeps only the observations that satisfy this condition. Note that because the Global Filter is applied to the early stage of data processing, using the Global Filter will result in faster calculations compared to specifying IF-condition to all tables or graphs.

For example, to produce tables and graphs for respondents under 40 years of age in a particular region of the country, enter age < 40, region = 11 in the Global Filter field. ADePT will drop all observations where region is not equal to 11 and age is greater than 40, and will generate tables and graphs only for observations that satisfy specified conditions. In addition to the global filter, individual tables and graphs may have their own specific restrictions on observations that are included in the analysis. The individual conditions do not replace, but rather augment the global filter so that only observations that satisfy both the global filter and the individual IF-condition [24] are included in the analysis. Applying an IF condition to a group of tables (graphs) is equivalent to applying the same IF condition to all tables (graphs) in that group.

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The purpose of IF-conditions is to include observations from a particular subgroup of a population in the analysis. The inclusion condition is formulated as a Boolean expressiona function of the variables existing in the users dataset. Each particular observation is included in the analys is if it satisfies the inclusion condition (the Boolean expression evaluates to value true). In many cases , the conditions we use are quite simple. Consider the following examples:

If-condition
urban=1 region==5 age_yrs>=16 sland!=0

Interpretation
Only those observations having the value of variable urban equal to one will be included in the analysis. Only observations from the region with code 5 are included in the analysis. Only those individuals who are 16 years old or older are included in the analysis. Exclude from analysis those individuals who are not landowners (given that the variable sland denotes the area of the land owned).

Stata users will note the difference that there is no need to write the word IF before IF-conditions and that == can be used interchangeably with =. You can specify more narrow groups by restricting several dimensions simultaneously as in the following examples:

If-condition

Interpretation
Include observations from all urban locations, exclude the first region (e.g., the country capital). Include individuals who own or rent land. Include skilled individuals only, defining a skilled person as one who has more than 8 years of education or received professional education.

(urban=1) & (region!=1) (sland>0) | (rland>0) (edu_yrs>8) | (prof_edu==1)

Note that in these expressions we use symbols & and | to denote logical AND and logical OR operations. In order for A&B to be true, both A and B must be true. In order for A|B to be true, any one of A or B must be true. Finally, you can specify any of the functions available in Stata in the IF-conditions. For example: If-condition
inlist(region,1,3,5,6) inrange(age, 15, 65) ((male==1) & inrange(age,15,65)) | (male==0) & inrange(age, 15, 60)) !missing(sector)

Interpretation
Include only observations from regions with codes 1, 3, 5, and 6. Include individuals aged between 15 and 65. Include only individuals of working age, which is defined differently for men and women. Exclude observations with missing values in variable sector.

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When you specify IF-conditions, be aware that ADePT follows Statas convention that missing values are considered to be infinitely large numbers. Hence the expression (age > 65) evaluates to true not only when the age of the responders is greater than 65 years but also if the value of variable age is missing. Use parentheses to indicate the order of evaluation for complex expressions. When IF-conditions are evaluated, each observation is treated independently from another. This means, for example, that to exclude all households where the household head was born abroad, we must either be working on the household level (then person-specific characteristics refer to household heads) or we must have a variable place-of-birth-of-household-head defined for each individual in the dataset (and consistent within each household) instead of the place-of-birth variable. If the IF-condition is based on the place-of-birth variable, this will not exclude the children living in the households with foreign-born household heads. To specify an IF condition, select a table (group of tables, all tables), then click on the IFcondition field [24] in the bottom of the Table description tab, enter the expression to restrict the sample of observations, and press the <Set> button [25].

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Any tables (graphs) that have an IF-condition applied to them are highlighted in yellow. To remove the IF-condition, select the object to which the IF-condition was applied and press the <Clear> button [25] next to the IF-condition field. The IF-condition specified for a table is outputted below the table. The definitions of IF-conditions are not saved in the project file. For example, to generate Table 2.2 only for households residing in regions with the codes lower than 3, enter region < 3 into the IF-condition field. You can use any valid Stata expressions to form IF-conditions. IF-conditions may include any variables from the users datasets, not only those that ADePT has requested in the variables specification form. However, it is the users responsibility to ensure the validity and consistency of these variables, as ADePT has no prior knowledge to allow it to conduct checks on them. A combination of the global filter and individual IF-conditions for tables may become too restrictive, and it is the users responsibility to make sure the conditions do not contradict each other and do not remove all the observations from the sample. For example, if the global filter
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selects only urban population and an IF-condition applied to a particular table selects only rural population, then that table may not be constructed because there will not be a single observation that could satisfy both conditions simultaneously. While the contradiction may be obvious in this example, it may not be transparent in the population with complex dependencies between, say, the sector of employment, education level, and other factors. If the effective condition (the combination of the global filter and the individual IF-condition) is so restrictive that no observations satisfy it, the table (graph) will not be constructed, an error message will be added to the list of messages, and the table (graph) will be marked red in the selection tree. While it may look the same when a global filter is specified and an IF-condition is applied to all tables (graphs), there are differences that sometimes become important. The cause of these differences is the fact that the global filter has the highest priority and is applied on the data preparation stage before the beginning of the analysis. This has two consequences. First, the global filter can be used to remove the observations from the analysis that cause problems with the data checks. Normally, if the problem is caused by a particular value of a certain variable, that value can be recoded to a missing variable to exclude that outlier. However, in some cases an outlier would have all the individual variables in order, but a combination of their values would be impossible. For example, we may want to apply the global filter to remove all the respondents under age 5 if they report attending a school. If we apply this condition, no warning will be issued, as these observations are completely excluded from the analysis before the checks are conducted. If the same condition was applied to a particular table the warning that very young children are attending schools would be displayed, even though these observations would later be excluded from that table. Second, the global filter might affect the values of the variables that ADePT derives from the data. Consider the household size as an example. In an individual-level dataset, ADePT constructs a variable for the household size by counting the number of observations with a unique value of the household ID variable(s). If a global filter that selects only the working age population is applied, the variable that ADePT creates for the household size will count the number of working age individuals in a household, which could be different from the number of household members. 4.2 Generating tables of frequencies and tables with standard errors ADePT can produce, in addition to the standard tables, tables with the standard errors for the outputted statistics and tables with frequencies. ADePT uses sophisticated algorithms to calculate the standard errors for estimated statistics. Often, these algorithms require substantial computational resources. The computation of tables with standard errors takes more time than the time needed to calculate standard tables. In some cases, this difference in time can be in the order of magnitude. We recommend that users start working with ADePT by generating standard
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tables. After you obtain the desired results in standard tables, you can produce the final set of results with standard errors. Tables with frequencies show the unweighted number of observations that were used in the calculation of a particular cell in a table. There is no extra time required to produce tables of frequencies relative to the time to produce standard tables. To output tables with standard errors and tables with frequencies check the check boxes <Standard errors (slow)> and <Frequencies> [21] located next to the <Generate> button [26].

4.3 Describing complex survey design in ADePT ADePT can account for a complex survey design when it calculates standard errors for the estimates. In particular, users may specify multiple stratification designs, final population corrections, survey weights, and options of how the standard errors of the estimates must be computed. Most surveys will include one or more weighting variables. Consult the survey documentation to determine which weighting variable must be used for your analysis. If weights is the only survey design parameter that you would like to specify in ADePT, you can input it on the form among the other variables.

ADePT always expects household weights irrespective of whether the data is at household or individual level. If other parameters of the survey design need to be specified, click the <Survey Settings> button [17] and fill in the form describing a complex survey design. 4.4 Defining missing values in ADePT

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ADePT does not remove an observation from the sample if any of the used variables has a missing value in it. Instead, ADePT reacts to missing values intelligently, ignoring the observations with missing values from analysis if the missing values are involved in the analysis for a particular table/graph. Missing values in Stata and SPSS datasets are assigned particular codes that ADePT is aware of. However, not all data providers use these codes. For various reasons some datasets contain values 9, 97, 98, 99, 997, etc., performing the functions of the missing value code (one variable may use multiple such codes for refusal , dont know, not applicable, etc.). If this is the case, it is crucial that ADePT be informed about such codes and it will ensure that they are recoded to missing values before any analysis is undertaken. The missing values can be defined in the Missing Values tab [16]. To activate the Missing Values tab, on the Menu bar [6] click Tools Show missing value tabthe new tab Missing Value will appear next to the Variables tab [9] in the Main Form window. ADePT receives information about missing values as a list of pairs of elements: variable(s) and missing value code(s). The following combinations are possible: one variable and one missing value. one variable and multiple missing values separated by spaces. multiple variables separated by spaces and one missing value. multiple variables separated by spaces and multiple missing values. A particular variable can be mentioned in multiple lists of variables and a particular value can be mentioned in multiple lists of missing values. The missing values tab contains the (initially empty) list of such pairs and controls to append this list. To define missing values: 1. enter one or more variable names into the first field, separate variable names with spaces. 2. enter one or more values into the second field, separate multiple values with spaces. 3. click the <Add> button. 4. repeat (if necessary) for other variables and values. You can add as many definitions of missing values for the variables in your dataset as you wish. The example below shows how to recode values 98 and 99 in the variable defining education. To do that, drag and drop the obrazovanje variable into the Variable field, enter 98 and 99 into the Missing Values field, and press the <Add> button.

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The information about the user-defined missing values is saved into the project file and will be invoked when the project file is opened (Check, Add to project file). If the definitions of missing values were stored in a project file, the Missing Values tab will be shown automatically when this project file is loaded. 4.5 Specifying expressions in variables fields Some of the variables (e.g., urban and gender) are treated in ADePT as dummy variables and thus must have only two values (if a variable is used). Internally ADePT assigns specific meaning to particular values of these variables, for example, 1 denotes urban population in the urban variable. However, the coding of these variables might be different in the users datasets. If this is the case: recode original data to match ADePTs expectations, e.g., 1 = male, 1 = urban, 1 = household head. specify an expression instead of a variable name, which ADePT will evaluate and take the result as a corresponding indicator. Expressions come in handy when a variable does not exist in the dataset exactly in the way ADePT expects it, but can be derived from the existing variables using a simple transformation. This applies only to dummy variables (because the result of expression evaluation is binary by its nature) and to categorical variables to the extent that a categorical variable is a generalization of a dummy variable.

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Consider the following example: in the original dataset variable, URBAN takes values 1 for rural and 2 for urban population. Because there are several data files (each corresponding to a different year), it may be cumbersome to recode this variable into the format that ADePT expects. It might be easier to specify an expression of the following type: URBAN==2 ADePT generates a new variable in each dataset. The variable will take the value 1 whenever URBAN was equal to 2. For all other values (in this case, 1s), this new variable will take a value of 0. Missing values of URBAN will remain missing.

The following transformations may be applied: varname == const varname != const varname > const varname >= const varname < const varname <= const Note that the name of a variable must be the first word of the specified expression. Whenever an expression evaluates to logical true a value one (1) is taken, while zero (0) is taken for logical false. 4.6 Simulations with ADePT In this section we discuss how to perform simulation analysis of a reform or a policy intervention with ADePT. The process consists of two steps. First, one creates a dataset with simulated data. That dataset is based on the actual data, modified to simulate the effect of a reform or policy. Some of the examples are the simulations of the impacts of income supplements, unemployment benefits, and other data. The second step involves loading the two files (original and simulated)

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into ADePT and generating tables and graphs comparing the statistics between the original and the simulated scenarios. You must have a full version of Stata to continue. Start ADePT and switch to the module most appropriate for your topic of analysis. Add the original file to the list of files. You will use this file to derive the simulated data. Click the <Open in Stata> button [10]. A new Stata session will start and the dataset will automatically be loaded to Stata. From this point you can issue Stata commands that modify the dataset according to your assumptions. Make sure that instead of creating new variables you are modifying the original variables (recall that when working with multiple datasets, ADePT assumes that the variable names are the same in all the datasets). For example, suppose that each individuals consumption is stored in variable v021 and you want to investigate how a 10 percent consumption subsidy to rural households will affect aggregate poverty rates. You type command:1 replace v021 = v021 * 1.10 if rural == 1 When you finish modifying the data, save it to a new file. For example, you might want to save the simulated data in the file called simulated by typing the command in Stata: save simulated, replace Close the Stata session by typing exit in the Stata command prompt and add the simulated dataset into the files list of ADePT. Select show changes in the files list. If there are only two datasets in the list , ADePT will automatically select them to be compared.

Note that ADePT does not take into account the fact that second dataset is simulated, so the standard errors reported by ADePT for simulated indicators and for the differences may be incorrect. The simulations can be quite complex. For example, you may want to first model the dependency of income and consumption from education, then simulate an increase in education and then re-estimate the income and consumption after the reform.

Refer to the Stata manuals for description of Stata commands. Type help in Statas command line to bring up the electronic documentation for the installed version of Stata.

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5. Adjusting the settings of ADePT


In this section we will discuss the options that affect the work of all modules of ADePT, such as the language of interface, the computational engine, and the output viewer. 5.1 Using ADePT with different languages To provide a comfortable working environment for the users whose native language is not English, ADePTs language can be changed. This change (software localization) affects both the interface of the program (menus, dialogs, error messages, etc.) and the reports produced with ADePT (table titles, table notes, sheet names, etc.). Before changing the language, make sure you have saved your input into an ADePT project file (see Working with projects in ADePT) or it will be lost when ADePT is restarted. To adjust the language setting, open the options dialog (in the main menu, choose Tools Options) and switch to the localization tab.

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This tab contains two selections: one is for the code page and one for the language. To change the language, select one of the available languages from this list and click <OK>. The dialog will close. To apply the change of language, ADePT must be closed and reopened (see Starting and Closing ADePT). Once the new language is set, ADePT will display all the menus, dialogs, and error messages in that language. (Because ADePT is a fast-developing project, some new parts of the interface might not yet be translated. In this case ADePT will display them in English.)

The choice of the coding page allows the correct display of variable names and variable labels recorded in non-Latin script. You might need to change the coding page if your datasets contain variable names or labels recorded in Cyrillic, Arabic, Greek, or other scripts. The reason for this is that Stata dataset format allows storage of non-English symbols, but does not provide the code page in which they should be represented (this is a setting on the computer on which the data was saved into the file). Thus the user must manually try the different code pages until the localized data labels become readable. ADePT provides a choice of the most common code pages for alphabet-based languages (Cyrillic, Greek, etc.). Stata datasets cannot store labels in character-based languages (Chinese, etc.) and thus there is no code page selection for them. The selection of the coding page is independent from the choice of the language.

Right-click on the column header for the value labels and left-click the appropriate encoding name to switch to the proper code page.

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This panel shows how the variable labels are displayed when the code page is set properly (in this case Cyrillic).

These panels show how the same variable labels as in the first panel are displayed when the code page is not set correctly (Arabic, Greek, and Hebrew respectively).

ADePT will automatically decode labels using the specified code page and show them in the variables list panel. It may take several tries to determine which code page is the correct one. An equivalent but somewhat faster way of switching the code page is to right-click the header of the variables column on Variables tab [9] and select a code page in the menu that pops up. ADePT will remember the code page setting and will use it in all modules until a new code page is specified. 5.2 ADePT computational engine ADePT relies on the Stata numerical engine for computations. By default, ADePT uses Numerics by Stata (NBS) to generate tables and graphs. NBS is a library of computational routines developed and distributed by StataCorp. NBS is included in the ADePT installation package and is set up as a numerical engine on installation. Users who have Stata version 10 or later installed on their computers have the option to use ADePT with their own Stata.
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The NBS has a computational functionality of the Stata SE 32-bit version 11 (currently the latest version of Stata). Users with 64-bit Stata and users with Stata MP might prefer utilizing their own Stata as a computational engine for ADePT, as these versions allow faster execution (Stata MP) and an ability to load larger datasets (64-bit Stata SE and MP) compared to NBS. Using Stata with ADePT also extends ADePT functionality by allowing users to open and modify data files directly from ADePT (see Loading Data into ADePT). 5.3 Viewer for ADePT output files ADePT saves generated results (tables and graphs) in Microsoft Excel xml format. The output could be displayed either with Microsoft Excel (MS Excel) or with a free Microsoft Excel Viewer. Open Office Calc can also be used to display the output produced by ADePT. On installation, ADePT tries to locate the executable file for Microsoft Excel and use it as a viewer for the generated results. Users who do not have Microsoft Excel installed on their computers have an option to download and install free Microsoft Excel Viewer from the Microsoft website: http://www.microsoft.com. This installation requires administrative rights. ADePT first tries to read the location MS Excel executables from the Windows registry. If ADePT cannot find this information in the registry, it searches selected folders on the local drives. The functionality of MS Excel Viewer is restricted to an ability to open, view, and print files generated in MS Excel-supported formats. Users can also copy data from MS Excel Viewer to other programs. MS Excel Viewer does not allow users to modify and save a workbook or to create a new workbook. 5.4 Selecting the computational engine and output viewer To check the setting of ADePT, on the Menu bar [6] click Tools Options and select the Applications tab. This tab shows whether during installation ADePT managed to determine the location of the required applications and offers options to install missing components. The tab contains two radio buttons to switch between Stata and Numeric by Stata, fields with the paths to Stata executables, executables for Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Excel Viewer, and the path to the scripting host executable (we plan to remove this component in the later versions of ADePT). The screenshot below shows an example where ADePT has successfully located all the required components and is ready to runthe fields contain paths to required applications and are highlighted in green. ADePT will use NBS for computation and MS Excel installed in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 folder as a viewer for output.
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This screenshot shows an example where ADePT uses Stata 10 installed on the local (or network) computer as a computational engine. ADePT tries to locate the Stata 10 or later executable automatically on installation. If ADePT fails to find the Stata executable, users can point ADePT to a location of this executable by pressing the <Browse> button on the right of the field with the Stata executable path. Similarly, users can specify the directory with MS Excel or MS Excel Viewer executables on their computers by pointing ADePT to these locations. If no MS Excel or MS Excel Viewer is found on the local computer, ADePT will still produce the output file with tables and graphs and store it in a user-defined location.

6. Working with Projects in ADePT


A project is a configuration file that contains paths for the datasets and names of variables specified by the user in a module of ADePT. The project could be useful if you want to save the information defined in a current session to use again later. The basic commands to work with Project files are located in the Project menu on the Menu bar.
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After uploading data files and specifying variables on the ADePT form, you can save this information for future use by choosing <Project> and then the <Save Project> command [6]. Specify the destination folder and file name for the project you want to save. You can use the <Save Project As> command to save the project in a different location. The saved project will store links to datasets, names of specified variables, definitions of the missing values, and the expression used in the Global Filter. Projects do not retain the list of selected tables and graphs, the corresponding IF-conditions and frequencies, and standard errors choices because they do not characterize the input information but rather describe the desired output. A previously saved project can be retrieved by selecting the <Open Project> element of the <Project> menu [6]. In the window that opens, navigate to the folder containing a previously saved project and double-click its name. The datasets are not saved into a project file; instead it contains references to the selected datasets. To start a new project, clear all the fields on the form by choosing <Project> and then the <Reset> command from the drop-down menu. ADePT saves the settings of the last successfully run configuration (that is, some tables or graphs were created) on exit and loads them automatically at startup. If you prefer to start working with the blank project instead, you can change the default behavior by going to <Tools> <Options> <Other Options> and unchecking the corresponding check box [6]. The last successfully run configuration for the current module can be recalled at any time by selecting the corresponding command in the <Project> menu [6]. You can reuse projects saved in a particular module in other modules. In that case, the project will load the datasets and specify variables that are present in both modules. For example, if the project saved in the Poverty module is opened in Labor module, ADePT will automatically fill in the fields for welfare aggregate, poverty lines, urban-rural indicator, etc., but will not be able to fill in the fields specific only to the Labor module such as work categories, earnings, and others.
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6.1 Using ADePT project files on a different computer You can use saved project files on a different computer. ADePT projects contain explicit (not relative) paths to the data files. ADePT will try to load data files from the locations stored in the project file. If ADePT fails to find the data files on the paths specified in the project file, it will search for these files in the directory where the project file is located. Thus, if you want to use a project file in a situation where the locations of the data files are different from those saved in the project file, place your data files in the directory where the project file is located. Saved projects could also be used in the batch processing in ADePT (see Using ADePT in a batch mode). 6.2 Replicating the results obtained with ADePT To reproduce the results obtained with ADePT, the following must be passed to the person replicating: 1) ADePT software: give your colleague a link to the homepage of ADePT, www.worldbank.org/adept, to download and install ADePT; 2) project files with input specifications used to obtain the original results; and 3) datasets that were used to generate the results (note that the datasets are not stored in the project file, but only the links to their location on the users drive). It might be convenient to pack the project files and the datasets into a single archive, for example a zip-archive, to reduce the size of the transfer. When ADePT opens a saved project file, it looks for the datasets in the specified locations. If the person who is using your files is unable or unwilling to re-create your folder structure on his/her computer, instruct him/her to place the datasets in the same folder where he/she placed your project files. If ADePT does not find a dataset in the location specified in the project file, it checks the folder where the project file itself is located, and if the dataset is found it is taken from there. Note that the IF-conditions are not saved in the project files. If you used any IF-conditions to produce the original results you need to provide a description of which IF-conditions were applied to which tables and graphs. The IF-conditions for each table and graph are displayed below the tables/graphs in the corresponding sheets of the ADePT output.

7. Using ADePT in a batch mode


ADePT supports a batch mode of operation that might be helpful if you want to produce several reports for many countries or a set of reports for the same country with different parameters, for
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example, different poverty lines. The batch mode minimizes human involvement in producing the reports; ADePT creates output automatically based on the settings prepared and saved into a project file earlier. To use the batch mode, first start ADePT as usual and provide all the inputs as described in the section Specifying variables in ADePT: add the datasets and fill in the variables. Then save your input into a project file of your choice (note that you do not need to generate the actual report, i.e., press the <Generate> button, to be able to save your inputs into the project file). Repeat this for every report that you intend to produce. After all the project files are prepared, close the ADePT program. At this step you need to create a new batch file, which will call ADePT to produce the reports. For every report that you intend to produce, you add the following line to ADePT: C:\Software\ADePT\ADePT.exe D:\Projects\FirstProject.ini D:\Reports\FirstReport.xml The line consists of three components: first is the full file name of the ADePT executable. This is the path specified when you installed ADePT to your computer, followed by the name of the ADePT executable: ADePT.exe. The second parameter is the full name of the project file saved earlier. The third parameter is the full name of the file where the report should be saved. If any of these three parameters contains a white space, be sure to enclose that parameter into double quotes like in the next example: C:\Program Files\ADePT\ADePT.exe Reports\FirstReport.xml D:\Projects\FirstProject.ini D:\Final

To run the created batch file, double-click it in a Windows Explorer window. If your batch file is written correctly, you will see ADePT running. If you want to schedule an overnight job, use the Task Scheduler to schedule this batch file as a new task. On a Windows Vista-based computer, the Task Scheduler can usually be found in the Accessories/System Tools subfolder of the Start menu. Note that not all users may have privileges to schedule tasks. If this is the case, you may need to contact your systems administrator for assistance. Note that we do not specify the choice of tables and graphs when ADePT runs in the batch mode. This is because ADePT automatically determines which tables and graphs can be built based on the user-specified inputs and creates all of the feasible tables and graphs. Note also that since the
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IF-conditions are not stored in the project files, there is no way to specify table-specific inclusion conditions in the batch mode, but you can still specify the global filter. Here is some advice on creating batch files: Use a text editor to create batch files (do not use MS Word) and save them as plain text with the extension .BAT so that the Windows operating system can properly recognize them as batch files. If you do not remember where ADePT was installed, right-click its icon in the Start menu and the text after the Target parameter is the full file name that you need for the first parameter. Project files can be located in different folders, reports can be saved into different folders, and data may be located in a third place, but it is a good idea to impose some structure on the organization of the files. It is a good idea to store all the prepared projects in one folder, all the data files in its subfolders, and all the produced reports in a special output folder. It is also a good idea to bind the project and the report with a common name, for example if the project is called First.ini, name the report First.xml. Proper organization of the files will help you to navigate and back up your files more easily. Some parameters apply to the ADePT program as a whole and cannot be specified in each project individually. These are the language and code page settings and the choice of the Stata executable and other settings that are specified in the Options dialog. If any of them needs adjustment, start ADePT and specify them interactively before running the batch file.

8. Updating ADePT
The ADePT team is constantly working on improvements in the functionality of the ADePT Software platform, adding new tables and graphs to the existing modules and developing new modules. It is thus important to keep the program up-to-date by periodically installing the updates. To check whether the new version of ADePT is available, on the Menu bar [6] click <Help> <Check for Updates> ADePT will try to access the developers website and check if a newer version is currently available. In the dialog window that opens, ADePT reports if an update is necessary. To see the detailed information about the components that have changed and their old and new versions click the <Show details> button.

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During the update ADePT will close, so be sure to save your project file before performing an update. Click <Update> to perform the update and change the program files. ADePT will download the newer version from the developers website, indicating the progress in a progress bar. Once the newer version is downloaded, ADePT closes and replaces its files with the newer ones. After this the process is complete and ADePT restarts automatically. Note that the <Update> button will remain disabled if there is no Internet connection, and an Internet connection must be established before opening the updates dialog. Also note that all custom settings and values of the parameters are preserved on updates. It is also possible to update ADePT by simply installing the most recent version on top of an existing version. A formal uninstallation of ADePT is not required for updates, but it is possible to do so. You can uninstall ADePT by clicking the corresponding icon in ADePTs program group in the Windows Start menu, and all the ADePT program files are removed from your computer.

9. Troubleshooting ADePT
9.1 Problems during installation The most recent version of ADePT can be downloaded from its homepage: www.worldbank.org/adept Carefully study the requirements for hardware and software prerequisites before installing ADePT. While ADePT itself does not require administrative privileges to be installed, its
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prerequisites do require such special privileges. You may need to contact your systems administrator in case you do not have such access rights on your system. If you encounter a problem during installation on a system that satisfies all the requirements for ADePT, we recommend checking the FAQ section at ADePTs homepage, which addresses the common problems and solutions discovered after the creation of this manual. If the problem is not resolved with this additional information, do not hesitate to contact us through the contact form on the website. To be able to help in the most efficient way we will need the following information about your system: a. Version of the ADePT installation that you are trying to install: 1. Date when downloaded from our site (e.g., March 15, 2010). 2. File size of the installation (e.g., 12,074,402 bytes). b. Type and version of the operating system installed. 1. Type (e.g., Windows XP, Windows Vista, etc.). 2. Bit-version (e.g., 32- or 64-bit). 3. Release version (e.g., 5.2.3790). 4. Service packs and updates applied to the operating system (e.g., Service Pack 2). 5. Language of the operating system (e.g., US American). c. Version of the .Net framework installed (e.g., 3.5). d. Version of the Microsoft Office installed (if applicable). e. Detailed description of the problem indicating whether the problem is reproducible. f. Any additional information that you think may be helpful in resolving the problem. 9.2 Debug mode ADePT is a complex computer program, and as in any program bugs and errors are inevitable. If you experience any strange behavior during the computations, in particular if some tables are not produced and you see indications of possible bugs, activate ADePTs debug mode. In this mode ADePT will monitor its own behavior during the computations, logging the commands issued to transform the data, which can provide key evidence in identifying problems with the algorithms on which ADePT is based.

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To activate the debug mode, select the corresponding item <Debug Mode> in the <Tools> menu [6] before pressing the <Generate> button [26]. Once the debug mode is activated, it will persist until switched off (even if ADePT is restarted). An indication that ADePT is currently in the debug mode is a checkmark next to the corresponding item in the menu and the words DEBUG MODE in the title of the main program window. After setting all the inputs and pressing <Generate>, wait for the computations being performed as usual. In the end ADePT will suggest saving the error report file. This file (in fact a ziparchive) contains the information about the job ADePT was performing that can help the developers identify the problem and fix the program or suggest a workaround for the users. You can save this file to any location on your computer and send it to the developers as an attachment. The following information is included in the error report file: The information that the user has put into the fields on the form of ADePT. The messages that ADePT has produced while checking the data and performing computations. Any output (perhaps incomplete) that ADePT managed to produce before an error occurred. Trace of the commands that ADePT executed to transform the data and compute the indicators. The error report file does not include any unit-record data or users datasets, which were used when the error occurred because of confidentiality reasons. However, this information would be useful for developers in order to reproduce the problem. All the information that ADePT puts in the error report file can be checked before submission. To do this, open each file in the error report archive in a text editor.

Appendix 1: List of data checks Appendix 2: 2.1. Data conversion


ADePT can work with files of the two popular formats for storing statistical data: the Stata data file format (file extension .dta) and the SPSS file format (file extension .sav). In some cases you may find that the datasets are available in different formats that are not supported directly by ADePT. In this case data conversion becomes necessary.
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There are two main strategies for converting statistical data: using a statistical package that provides extensive import and export facilities (perhaps, but not necessarily, the package that was used to create the dataset in the first place) or using specialized data conversion software. Most of the modern statistical packages have facilities to import/export data from/to various file formats. For example, R (with installed package foreign) can read-in DBASE (.dbf) datasets, Minitab (.mtp), and other file formats; PSPP can read-in Gnumeric (.gnm/.gnumeric), Open-Document (.ods) and other files. Most packages will be able to open ASCII/plain text (.txt, .asc) data files and comma-separated (.csv) data files. If Stata or SPSS software is available, this may be an obvious choice, at least for the text files. In contrast to statistical packages, specialized data conversion software focuses solely on data conversion, but usually provides a wider range of supported file formats. Popular data conversion programs like Stat\Transfer support output to Stata and SPSS files and can convert statistical, mathematical, and spreadsheet packages from dozens of file formats. R: www.r-project.org PSPP: www.gnu.org/software/pspp Stat\Transfer: www.stattransfer.com Please follow instructions very carefully when working with these packages. You may want to double-check that there is no loss of data during the conversion process. Most common points of concern are: Are the variable and value labels preserved? Are missing values properly converted? Have the variable names or storage types changed during conversion?

Having a program that can browse your dataset is very helpful. ADePT does not provide such a possibility on its own and relies on the users having Stata.

2.2. Assigning and using labels in ADePT


When ADePT creates a table it uses variable labels defined in the users datasets. If labels for a variable used in the table are defined, these labels are shown in the table. If no labels are defined, ADePT outputs the numeric codes. For example, consider a tabulation of poverty by region. If the variable holding region codes is properly labeled, ADePT builds the table with actual region names. Otherwise, the table will contain numerical codes for the regions. When working with

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multiple datasets, ADePT takes the value labels from the first dataset, adds to it value labels defined in the second, but not in the first dataset, and so forth. Many datasets come with predefined variable and value labels. If your datasets contain no labels, or the labels are lost during data conversion, you can define them yourself using Stata or SPSS. For example, in order to define the labels for regions in Stata, the following commands may be used: label define lregion 1 North 2 South 3 East 4 West label values region lregion The first command defines the new system of value labels lregion, and the second command binds these labels to a particular variable region. To correctly define the value labels, the meaning of each code needs to be known. These meanings are usually contained in a separate document called codebook and distributed with the data. When ADePT reads the value labels from the users dataset, it uses the code page value defined in the options/localization dialog to properly decode the labels. It is thus important to set this code page value correctly; otherwise, the labels may be unreadable.

Appendix 3: Portable ADePT


You can take ADePT with you when you go to use it on a different computer. In fact, you can select a USB-stick (thumb-drive) during installation and ADePT will install there. Since administrative privileges are not required to install or run ADePT, you can take your USB-stick with ADePT and run it on a different computer. Note, however, that: 1. The computer where you want to run ADePT must have .NET Framework of the proper version as described in the program requirements section, as well as Microsoft Office Excel or Microsoft Excel Viewer. We also advise you to select Numerics By Stata as the computational engine in the options, unless you expect a compatible version of Stata to be present. 2. Your settings will not be travelling with you. These settings include the options (language, reporting level, path to Excel, etc.) and the most recent input settings used in every module. 3. The path to ADePT may change (the drive-letter of the mounted drive depends on the presence of other drives and the configuration of the host computer). If you are using the batch mode of ADePT, you may have to revise your batch files.

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Index
A
Add button 9, 16, 30, 31 Missing Values 8, 13, 16, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 39, 46 Missing Values tab 7, 13, 16, 30, 31 MS Excel 9, 21, 37, 38 MS Excel Viewer 9, 37, 38

B
Batch mode 40 Browse button 5, 38

N
NBS 36, 37 Numerics by Stata 4, 11, 36, 37, 47 Notifications 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 Numeric values 12 Numerical variable 12

C
Categorical variable 8, 12 Compound fields 13, 15, 16 Contents sheet 21

O
Open in Stata button 11, 33 Open Project 39 Options 18, 34, 37, 39, 42, 47 Original Data Report 22

D
Datasets tab 7, 9, 10, 14, 24 Dummy variable 8, 13, 31

P
Programs tab 13 project 27, 31, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 Project 38, 39, 42 Project file 27, 31, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43

E
Errors 8, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29

F
Frequencies 23, 27, 28, 29, 39

R
Remove button 11 Reporting tab 18, See Options Reset project 39, See Project

G
Generate button 7, 8, 18, 21, 29, 41, 45 Global Filter 7, 8, 24, 27, 28, 39, 42

S
Search 11, 15, 40 Select Font 19 Show changes between periods 10 Standard errors 7, 23, 28, 29, 33, 39 Stata 3, 4, 9, 11, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 45, 46, 47 Status bar 7, 9, 14 Stop button 7, 8, 18, See Generate button String variable 12, 14, 15

I
IF-condition 7, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 39, 40, 42

M
Main Form 7, 8, 12, 14, 21, 30

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System Messages window 7, 18, 19

W
Warnings 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

T
Tools 18, 30, 34, 37, 39, 41, 45

X
xml 21, 37, 42

V
Variables tab 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 30, 36

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