Training

Typically, you use Dimensions Reporter and Desktop Reporter to aggregate respondent data into summaries, including crosstabulations of variables showing counts and percentages.

Occasionally, however, you may need to display the respondent data respondent-by-respondent. For example, perhaps you would like to

• Make a list of all survey respondents so that you can send them incentives or products to test
• Check survey logic and programming by looking at each respondent’s answers to a series of questions.
• Assign a categorical response to or “code” answers to text questions while viewing the respondent’s answer to another question

Profile tables could be a valuable tool in each of these situations.

Creating a profile table

Creating a profile table is very easy. Select Tables | New | Profile from the menu to add a new profile table to your document.

Figure 1: Create a new profile table through the menu.

Unlike normal tables, which have both a side and top, a profile table will only have a top. To add variables, you can either

• Drag-and-drop the variable from the Variables pane to the profile
• Click on the variable in the Variables pane and click on Add in the profile

Figure 2: Choose variables as the columns of your Profile Tables.

In a profile table, each row is a respondent and each column represents a variable that you have selected. Clicking on the 'Results' tab will show you the results of your table.

Figure 3: The profile table shows respondents as rows and variables as columns.

In the example above, the last column allows text responses to the question, "Why?" You can assign a code to these responses and merge them back into your dataset for tabulation. The column to the left of the text question is a categorical question which provides context for understanding and coding the question "Why?"

Sorting or filtering a profile table

There are a couple of things you could do to make your table more useful.

One option is to sort the table. Press F4 or select Tables | Properties to bring up the options for the table. Go the Sort tab and choose the field with which you want to sort the table.

In the example below, you've sorted the table by the categorical question, ["Over the last year . . .]; this enables you to group the responses together by the direction of change.

Figure 4: Table properties allow you to choose the column on which to sort the table.

Your other option for making this table easier to use is to filter out blank responses to the “Why” question. Select the Filter tab and create the condition to select which respondents stay in the profile table. In the example below, you want the “Why?” question to be answered instead of left empty.

Figure 5: Profile Tables can be filtered on any variable or combination of variables.

 

Summary

A profile table created in Reporter or Desktop Reporter could be exported to Microsoft® Excel® or Microsoft Word by selecting File | Export | Results, and you could use it for a variety of purposes. Whether for mailings, coding, or logic-checking, profile tables are a simple, easy-to-create table type with many uses!