FAQs - Tables
How can I see a summary of the data collected so far?
By creating a copy of the questionnaire showing a topline summary, or a topline tables file. From the “Project” window:
- select the [Create printable questionnaire] toolbar button, or
- select [Project] [Create questionnaire] [Topline data], ensuring the correct data file is displayed next to the [Data file] button.
To create topline tables select [Tables] [Create topline tables file].
How many tables can I run at once?
Up to 30,000 tables can be stored (and run) in a single QPSMR Table Definitions file (QTF). Any number of QTF files can be used in the same project.
How do I include more than one entry across the top (as the columns) of my tables?
By making a variable. You can use the [Block insert] selection from the Response handling for variable dialog box to include copies of whole questions and then modify the responses, if required.
How can I include column headers on tables?
By using a \ (backslash). When the responses are used as the columns of a table, the response text up until the \ will be used as a header, centred over the remaining text and the following response texts (up to the next response text with a backslash).
When the responses are used for the rows of a table, backslash generates a new line. For example, you might use the following:
Variable Response texts
Response 1 text: Sex\Male
Response 2 text: Female
Response 3 text: Age\Under 30
Response 4 text: 30 and over
Table column headers
Sex Age
Table 1 Male Female Under 30 30 and over
TIP: Format options UCH and URH can be used to underline column and row headers.
How can I print more than one table on the same page?
Use format option LBT1, to leave 1 line between each printed table.
I have defined a print style - why don’t my tables use all of the page when I print them?
Selecting [Data] [Global report settings] or [Tables] [Set table defaults] or clicking the [Set defaults] button from the Global table settings dialog box, will position you at the Global table and report settings dialog box.
Here you can select a pre-defined print style, by clicking the [Print style] button. We recommend you use the [Print style] button to select a pre-defined style to control the page size rather than altering the width or height of the page yourself, in this way you can be sure that QPSMR will automatically use all of the available page space for your reports and tables. This will prevent information, when there is space available on the current page, overflowing to the next.
IMPORTANT: If you modify a print style, in order for the changes to take effect, you must always select the style, using the [Print style] button from the Global reports and tables settings dialog box - even if the style is already displayed.
Why don’t the columns of my tables line up correctly when I print them?
If you are using a proportional font (such as Arial or Times Roman) to print your tables, you should apply format options CHG2 and CLG2 globally, before running your tables, to ensure the columns line up correctly.
How do I differentiate between valid zero responses and blanks (skipped answers) on my tables - especially in mean scores?
From the Global table and report settings dialog box you should leave [Empty numbers as undefined] and [Filtered numbers as undefined] set so any integer or weight questions that are empty (left blank in data input) will be set to “undefined”. They will not be included in any table calculations (they will be counted as undefined rather than zero).
How can I change the “Mean score” text in a mean score summary table?
From the Global table and report settings dialog box, selecting the box [Averages use question text] enables you to use the question texts as the row labels in place of the standard text “mean score”, when producing a “statistics only” table or a “mean score summary” table.
The following example shows a standard mean score summary table without selecting the box [Averages use question text].
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cost of shopping
by On average, how often do you go shopping for food?
Base: All respondents
Total Most More Once Once Less
days than a a than
once week fort once
a night a
week fort
night
Total 50 8 7 16 12 7
Mean score 52.7 7.5 40.0 45.6 66.1 110.6
--------------------------------------------------------------
And with the “Averages use question text” box selected:
--------------------------------------------------------------
Cost of shopping
by On average, how often do you go shopping for food?
Base: All respondents
Total Most More Once Once Less
days than a a than
once week fort once
a night a
week fort
night
Total 50 8 7 16 12 7
Cost of shopping 52.7 7.5 40.0 45.6 66.1 110.6
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OR - The following CL syntax can be used to set any mean score text (rather than using the question text):
“%AVG=’text’,”
How can I produce an index (table of contents) for my tables?
A “Table of Contents” print file is automatically created each time you run a set of tables. The table of contents print file has the same name as the tables print file (Tables.TXT) and the suffix Contents.TXT. This can be printed from the “Project” window by selecting [File] [Print a file].
Note we recommend that a special Print Style file (PRS) is created for printing Contents.TXT files, using an [Extra font] with the settings [Start at line] 1, [Finish at line] 99; [Begin at text block] 1, [Finish at text block] 99 and setting the [Left] radio button.
How can I insert blank lines after header in tables?
For topline tables, a CL syntax can be used to insert a number of blank lines after the global table heading. The following syntax, when included in a CL syntax table as the first table in a tables file, would insert 2 blank lines before the first table is printed on each page:
%VTP='* * *',
To insert 2 blank lines after the header for a run of standard tables the following syntax could be used:
%TID='* * *Table <&TABLEIDENTIFICATION> <&CONTINUATION>',
Even though I have created a weighting targets file (WGT) for respondent weighting, my tables are not being weighted when they are run - why?
This is probably because when some word processors save TEXT ONLY files they add their own TXT extension, so the resulting file is actually called xxx.WGT.TXT (where xxx is the name of the weighting targets file). If so, QPSMR will not be able to locate a WGT file and so your tables will not be weighted.
To display the entire weighting targets file name, use the Windows Explorer to list the file, and select [View] [Folder options] [View], ensuring the [Hide file extensions for known file types] check box is NOT selected. If the file does have the “added” extension TXT you can then rename it and your tables will be weighted when they are run.