The computerization of the Cardiff Births Survey

The Cardiff Births Survey (CBS) is a major ongoing study of childbirth in a well defined population, and has formed the basis for a number of important investigations in its field. It started at a time when computers were about to become readily available in United Kingdom universities, and it has made use of them from its earliest days. The changing ways in which this has been done over the years are here described in parallel with the changes that have taken place to the survey itself. Conclusions are drawn concerning the characteristics of other studies to which similar methods might be applied, and the inherent advantages and limitations of these methods are considered. Finally brief discussion is made of future prospects for the use of computers in the Cardiff Births Survey itself.