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This is a unique number allocated to each interview or CATI sample record.
It is stored with the data to identify the respondent. Sometimes it is referred to as just "Serial".
You can refer to the serial number in definitions as though it is an integer question with the name SERIAL.
If your data does not have a serial number, or the serial numbers contain letters, then a new serial number can be added to the data, see Change serial numbers.
For paper input the documents should be pre-numbered and that number should be used when entering the data. This ties the data record to the paper document.
For CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Input) the program will allocate a random serial number to each record.
For CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) the sample data file will have pre-allocated unique serial numbers.
Market Research quality standards insist that every record has a serial number.
Some companies try to attach a meaning to parts of the serial number, for example the first 3 digits represent the area. This is usually a mistake and is no substitute for collecting the area as a separate question.
The serial number is the definitive identifier of a particular questionnaire. For paper surveys the serial number must be recorded on the paper document. In practice the paper documents are usually numbered before input.