This guide is intended to assist states and service delivery areas (SDAs) in addressing the new oversight responsibilities and opportunities stipulated by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) with respect to management information system (MIS) issues in evaluating JTPA programs. The first chapter discusses the general requirements of a JTPA MIS to support evaluation (communications capability, data processing flexibility, skilled staff, statistical software, and a decentralized MIS structure) and contains a supplemental data dictionary (containing participant master, service, and follow-up files and employer and subcontractor master files). The second chapter covers the following six steps in handling survey data: preparing a codebook, preparing data for entry, coding, entering data, using a computer to edit, and analyzing data. A supplement dealing with employer reports concludes the second chapter. The third chapter deals with the following aspects of using statistical software: file preparation for using statistical software, statistical software for microcomputers, and procedures for using statistical software. A supplemental demonstration of statistical software concludes the guide. (MN)