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Data Descriptor Table

The following table presents Version 24 of the NAACCR data descriptor table summarizing the Item Number, Item Name, Format, Allowable Values, and Length of each item. The data type for all data items is “character.” Differences from Version 23 are marked “Revised” or “New” in the “Note” column of the table. Revised and new items are summarized in  the “Tables and Data Dictionary Revisions” table. 

Since the data exchange format has changed to XML, empty or missing data items can be omitted from a data exchange file unless a data item specifies a code for missing data or a data item specifies that empty space is a valid coded value.

Date fields are recorded in the year, month, day format (YYYYMMDD). If there are no known date components, the data item can be omitted unless the coding standard specifies a particular coded value for missing dates. If a portion of the date is unknown and the data item does not specify how to handle missing date components, the following date formats should be used:

  • YYYYMMDD – when complete date is known and valid
  • YYYYMM – when year and month are known and valid, and day is unknown
  • YYYY – when year is known and valid, and month and day are unknown