Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings (SNACS)

Description of the experiment setting Data collection for the Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings (SNACS) started in January 2017 and continued through September 2017. The complex study included web-based surveys, pre-interview surveys, on-site interviews, environmental observations, and telephone interviews of childcare sponsors and providers, as well as interviews of parents of some of the children from the sampled providers. The data were collected from a nationally representative sample of programs, children, and meals.

The data cover a range of subjects including the provider’s characteristics, the nutritional quality of meals and snacks served, the dietary intake of children in childcare, the activities of children over the course of the childcare day, and the financial conditions of the childcare operations.

Processing methods and equipment used SNACS data were collected via web-based surveys, pre-interview surveys, on-site interviews, environmental observations, and telephone interviews of childcare sponsors and providers, as well as interviews of parents of some of the children from the sampled providers. The study team cleaned the raw data to ensure the data were as correct, complete, and consistent as possible. They used many different methods to check the data depending on the data type. The details are described in the study document called “Appendix A: Methods” (https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/SNACS-AppendixA.pdf) available at the study website.

Study date(s) and duration Data collection for the Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings (SNACS) started in January 2017 and continued through September 2017. The final public data set was produced in 2021.

Study spatial scale (size of replicates and spatial scale of study area) The study is nationally representative and the sample design reflects the complexity of the sample needed to answer the research questions. The primary sampling units were 20 states randomly selected with six states selected with certainty due to their size. Secondary sampling units were selected from a random sample of metropolitan areas and clusters of non-metropolitan counties from the 20 States. Further details about the sample design are described in the “Appendix A: Methods” document available at the study website.

Level of true replication See the document, “Appendix A: Methods,” available at the study website.

Sampling precision (within-replicate sampling or pseudoreplication) See the document, “Appendix A: Methods,” available at the study website.

Level of subsampling (number and repeat or within-replicate sampling) See the document, “Appendix A: Methods,” available at the study website.

Study design (before–after, control–impacts, time series, before–after-control–impacts) Non-experimental

Description of any data manipulation, modeling, or statistical analysis undertaken The public use data files contain constructed variables used for analytic purposes. The files do include weights created to produce national estimates for the Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings final reports available at the study website.

The data files do not include any identifying information about childcare sponsors, providers, or individuals who completed the questionnaires or participated in the study in other ways.

Description of any gaps in the data or other limiting factors See the document, “Appendix A: Methods,” available at the study website for a detailed explanation of the study’s limitations.

Outcome measurement methods and equipment used The height and weight of sampled children were measured with scales provided by data collectors. See the document, “Appendix A: Methods,” available at the study website for details on other outcomes measured through statistical analysis of the survey responses about outcomes such as food insecurity.

Resources in this dataset:

• Resource Title: Study of Nutrition and Activity in Childcare Settings (SNACS) - SAS Data Sets, Data Codebooks and Documentation Guides File Name: SNACS-I Public Use Files.zip Description: The zip file contains 19 Data Codebooks, 7 Data Documentation Guides, 19 SAS Datasets and one SAS Formats File.