Federal Electronic Research and Review Extraction Tool (FERRET)
FERRET Access | NCHS Data Use Restrictions

This project represents a collaborative effort between NCHS and the Bureau of the Census.  The Census' FERRET system will provide full access to complex large data sets through the Internet.

FERRET will allow you access to micro-data sets via the World Wide Web. Currently, the 1994 Underlying Cause-of-Death File, the 1993 National Health Interview Survey and the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NHANES III are available via FERRET.   FERRET  provides the capabilities to:
Create crosstabs
Create frequencies
Create a SAS data set for downloading
Create an ASCII output file where you can:
download the file or
bring your data into a spreadsheet

How to Access FERRET
You can access FERRET using the link provided above.  You will be asked to sign in using your e-mail address.  Once the e-mail address has been entered, the next screen contains a list of the data files available on FERRET at the present time.  You can then select the files you want to use and proceed using FERRET.

Guidelines:
You are encouraged  to read analytical guidelines, the NCHS Data Use Restrictions, and other documentation regarding using each data set and to visit the NCHS Web site areas for each survey for additional information regarding each data set.  Pay particular attention to the weighting requirements of each data set.  For some files, recommended weights have been selected; for others, you can choose weights from the list of variables. 

This is a test project and your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.   Please send your comments regarding NCHS data sets using FERRET to nchsquery@cdc.gov.

This page last reviewed May 24, 2000