|
<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: User Guide > Project definition > Variables > Variables with a response list |
See Project components for a brief introduction to variables.
This topic describes single-coded and multi-coded variables.
These variables have a response list and are very similar to single-coded and multi-coded questions in that a variable can:
•Be filtered, and will be empty if any of the applied filters are false
•Be referred to in exactly the same way as a question in logic definitions and analysis
•Have response analysis settings on the responses
•Be used for sample points or quotas in CATI surveys
The differences are that a variable:
•Is not normally seen during an interview
•Is not normally stored in the data file
•Is recalculated whenever it is needed
•Has logic definitions as responses and a text that describes them
•Cannot have response input settings on the responses
•Cannot have response restrictors applied to it
Single-coded and multi-coded variables can be created by:
•Requesting a new variable entry and adding the responses, responses can be copied from questions and pasted into the variable
•Copying a whole question to a variable, each response in the variable will refer back to the same response in the question
•Copying a whole question to the clipboard and pasting as a variable
Single-coded variables should only be used when each respondent can only be selected for one of the responses. If a respondent is selected in more than one response definition then only the first of the responses will be selected in the variable.
TIP: there is a setting in Project global settings to make a multi-coded variable when copying a single-coded entry. This is helpful if summary rows are being added.
Responses can be added by:
•Adding them one at a time and defining the logic definition for each response separately
•Adding a block of responses by choosing an entry and the range of responses, see Variable responses add
•Adding a block of responses by combining responses from one or more questions or variables, see Variable responses add
•Adding a matrix of combinations of responses from other questions or variables, see Variable responses matrix
Responses can be cut and pasted in a variable and from one variable to another, and from other open projects.
The last response in a multi-coded variable can be set to R (reject) so that it will be selected if all the other responses are empty.
For some variables a number of the responses will be set to T (true) so that every respondent is selected, or F (false) so that no respondents will be selected.
Responses can be grouped together using headers and over-headers, see Variable responses. Headers are also used to group columns for significance testing, see Significance formats.