Setting and Changing Question Types
| Related Online Training modules | |
|---|---|
| Multiple Response Questions | |
| Grids | |
| Changing a Pick One to a Pick Any Question | |
| Changing a Pick Any to a Pick One Question | |
| Changing a Pick Any - Grid to a Pick Any Question | |
| Combining All Combinations of Categories | |
| Combining Different Variable Types to a Pick Any - Grid | |
| Generally it is best to access online training from within Q by selecting Help : Online Training |
| Related Videos | |
|---|---|
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Part 3 of Creating and Modifying Variables (Video) |
Questions may consist of one variable (e.g., age) or multiple variables (e.g., aided awareness of multiple brands). Q is structured around questions and it automatically takes into account the different types of questions. Q automates analyses by understanding what the data means and this is done using the question type assigned to variables. Many common analyses are achieved by changing question type.
Question Types
Q recognizes 13 different types of questions. See Question Types and Summary of Question Types for descriptions.
Setting and changing question types
Question Types are automatically set when data is imported into Q. However, Question Type can be modified by changing the Question Type drop-down menu in the Variables and Questions tab (this can be done by modifying the Question Type for any one of the variables in a question).
Multiple variables can be grouped together as a question by selecting the variables in the Variables and Questions tab, right-clicking and selecting Set Question.
Once Question Type has been set or changed there are some additional settings that change how the data is processed:
- If changing to a Pick Any or Pick Any - Grid question the Count This Value settings in the Value Attributes will determine how percentages are computed.
- If changing to a Number, Number - Multi or Number - Grid question the Value column determines the values used in computing any averages (you can recode the data by typing into the cells). See How to Recode Numeric Data.
- If changing to a Ranking question, the Value column determines the values determine the order of the ranking (higher values are treated as being ranked higher).
See Complicated Changes to Question Types for more complicated changes of Question Type.
"Fake" questions
| Related Online Training modules | |
|---|---|
| Multiple Response Questions | |
| Generally it is best to access online training from within Q by selecting Help : Online Training |
Q's Question Types are all examples of the types of questions that appear in questionnaires. In addition to ensuring that a question's Question Type has been set correctly, it is generally also useful to also have “fake” questions. That is, it is useful to setup up the data as if the questions asked in the survey are different to those actually asked. For example, the true Question Type of the following question is Pick One – Multi:
Please rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of your bank...
| Very Dissatisfied | Somewhat Dissatisfied | Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied | Somewhat Satisfied | Very Satisfied | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fees and charges | o | o | o | o | o |
| Customer service | o | o | o | o | o |
| Online banking | o | o | o | o | o |
It is often useful to restructure the data from such a question as if a Pick Any question had been asked (i.e., to do a top 2 box analysis), such as:
Which of these are you satisfied with? Your bank’s...
- ॳ Fees and charges
- ॳ Customer service
- ॳ Online banking
Or, if interested in presenting average satisfaction scores, the data can be restructured as if the following question had been asked:
Please rate your satisfaction with the following aspects of your bank on a scale of 1 to 5..
- ___ Fees and charges
- ___ Customer service
- ___ Online banking
which is done by changing the Question Type to Number - Multi.
Usually, it is best to copy the variables from a question and turn these copied variables into the “fake” question.
Undoing a question
Sometimes a question will have been set up in such a way that it is not clear what the question means. You can view the original variable labels (the source labels read from the raw data file) in the Variables and Questions tab by pressing 
in the toolbar, which causes a new column, Source Label, to appear between Name and Label
To change variable labels back to their original labels, right-click on the variables of interest and select Revert to Source Label (this option will only appear if the Source Label and the Label are different). To undo the setup of a question in entirety, select all variables in the question, then right-click and select Revert to Source.