OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research note is to introduce a training manual for event history data management. The manual provides a first comprehensive guide to longitudinal Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) data management that allows for a step-by-step description of the process of structuring and preparing a dataset for the calculation of demographic rates and event history analysis. The research note provides some background information on the INDEPTH Network, and the iShare data repository and describes the need for a manual to guide users as to how to correctly handle HDSS datasets. RESULTS: The approach outlined in the manual is flexible and can be applied to other longitudinal data sources. It facilitates the development of standardised longitudinal data management and harmonization of datasets to produce a comparative set of results.