Data management of a case-control study with a large number of variables

The description is presented of the system design and implementation experience obtained while providing the data management for a case-control study involving a large number of variables. Topics concerning questionnaire design, data collection, data coding, data entry, data edit, and data storage and retrieval are discussed. Designing and implementing the data-processing system for such a study provides diversified data management experience. This experience results in the investigation of existing and the development of new procedures and documents that can be applied to other studies in medical research. Emphasis is placed on the presentation of system details that can be tailored to specifications for a variety of studies.