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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: User Guide > Project definition > Starting a project > Data supplied |
A project may have already been processed elsewhere and you have been supplied with a data file containing answers to the questions on the questionnaire.
Along with the data itself, you may also get the metadata that contains the question and response texts and other relevant information.
As well as the files listed below you should always request a copy of the questionnaire that has been administered so that the data and any routing can be checked. In order of preference, you should try and obtain:
The data may have been collected with the Companion, in which case the files can be used as they are.
The project may have been processed with a Classic product, in which case the files can be used as they are.
The project may have been processed with QPSMR CL or MRDCL. In this case Companion files (QDF and ASC) can be exported from CL and used.
If it is desirable to preserve the original data and data locations, then the exported QDF can still be used, but the data locations will need to be changed to match the original data, and any data manipulation will need to be done again.
If the data has already been collected by another program, for example a web interviewing program, you should request a triple-s version of the data and metadata, see triple-s XML.
When you have loaded from triple-s, the files are ready for analysis, although you will need to add any routing and check the data.
Using the SPSS statistics program, you, or your customer, should open the SPSS data (SAV) file and run the MakeQDF.sbs script to produce a data file and project file. The MakeQDF.sbs is available free from your dealer website or netmr-download.scot/home/resources .
The MakeQDF output files can be used directly, although you will need to add any routing and combine multi-coded questions that may have been split up in the SPSS file.
If the metadata is not available, then you will need to define the questionnaire yourself from a copy of the administered questionnaire.
The data may be supplied in one of these formats:
Sometimes the data will be in spreadsheet form as a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file with each question as the columns and one row for each record (questionnaire).
Once the questions have been set up you can then use the data file as normal.
If the project has been processed with Quantum or another program that uses fixed format or card image data then the raw data file can be used unchanged.
This might be a character file or a binary file. Opening the data file with the raw data view window will inspect the file to determine its type.
Unless the questionnaire supplied has data locations shown on it for all the questions you will need a "data map". A data map shows the data locations used for each question.
IMPORTANT: because the raw data file already exists you must set up the project to match data locations. Before setting up the questionnaire you will need to use Project global settings to select "User sets" for data locations and specify the Raw data structure.