PASW Data Collection
SPSS Product Names Decoded

 

Here's a glossary of the old SPSS product names and the new SPSS product names all in one place with a brief description of what each product does.

Original Product NameNew Product NameDescription
SPSS DimensionsPASW IBM SPSS Data CollectionBanner for the overall group of products that are related to Data Collection e.g. doing surveys, managing survey data, reporting on surveys.
SPSS Author (known by many as mrAuthor)PASW IBM SPSS Data Collection AuthorDesktop tool aimed at people with MS Office skills for authoring surveys.
SPSS mrStudio w. Interview OptionPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Author ProfessionalDevelopment environment for creating editing and debugging interview scripts (which are VB Like), shares no visual similarities with regular Author merely performs the same task in a more complicated/powerful way. Scripts are written verses the IOM (Interview Object Model)
SPSS mrInterviewPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Interviewer WebServer application for interviewing people (using scripts from Author (regular or Professional) or built using yet another authoring utility called Build), includes features for managing sample, sending out invitation emails and so on.
SPSS mrInterview CATIPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Interviewer PhoneCATI add-on for regular mrInterview which includes supervisory and interviewer tools.
Known as mrInterview PlayerPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Interviewer/Data Collection Remote AdministratorCAPI version of mrInterview which is designed for decentralized data collection using portable computers with features for collating data and managing surveys on a server component.
SPSS mrPaper/mrScanPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Paper/ScanTool which works with MS Word to produce printable surveys based on scripts written in Author which also contains a Scanning module (was known as mrScan) which assists with data entry.
unrelated product SPSS Data EntryPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Data EntryTool which is built on the same components as the other Interviewing products with a user interface and management system which is geared towards Direct Data Entry.
SPSS mrDialerPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Dialer A hardware auto-dialler solution which forms a component of the CATI system.
SPSS DimensionNetPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Interviewer ServerThis is not a product per-se but its a web based system which kind of hangs all the web based tools together.
SPSS ReporterPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Reports for SurveysDesktop utility for building Cross Tab reports and exporting them to other formats aimed at Analysts who aren’t as technical as an SPSS Base (IBM SPSS Statistics) user.
SPSS Reporter serverPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Reports for Surveys serverClient-Server version of the above, which shares the same user interface but has a server component which performs all of the number crunching and file management, these 2 communicate via SOAP web services. Server version lacks the built in ability to export data, but gains the ability to control per-user/group which filters are applied on a given piece of data.
The client is automatically installed/deployed via ClickOnce technology.
SPSS mrTablesPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Web Reports for SurveysPure browser based version of the above which is less feature rich and is a significantly older product, the only common ground is the core components (Table Object Model (TOM), Data Model and Export Components).
SPSS mrStudio /Tables OptionPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Reports Professional for SurveysScripting and Debugging environment for automated tables and exports, where you can program against the Table Object Model. Does not share any User Interface with Reports for Surveys strangely not to be confused with a heavyweight version, its a different product.
SPSS mrStudioPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection ProfessionalThe scripting and debugging environment on its own with less licensed components, which is primarily designed for creating Data Management scripts (ETL) using script and has not direct User Interface comparison as it stands.
SPSS Dimensions Data ModelPASW IBM SPSS Data Collection Data ModelStandalone components for using the (highly useful) Data Model components to read and write data, this puts a standard API over around 12 different data formats commonly used in survey research.

 

Full article is here.
 
The missing documentation for EvaluateDerivedIteration

Some of you may have noticed the new feature in PASW Reports for Surveys (nee. Desktop Reporter) which enables you to build new derived grid variables via the UI using the Variables->New Grid menu item. In case you don't appreciate the usefulness of this feature I'll spell it out:

You have data from a source like SPSS SAV File (PASW Statistics File), SAS or Triple-S which doesn't contain grids, it has variables like:

  • Rating_BrandA
  • Rating_BrandB
  • Rating_BrandC

And you wanted to build a table which crosses Rating with Brand (pretty common I hear you say).. in other words you want these variables to look like a grid and you might even want to change your case data at all, you might just want a derived grid variable based on these 3 top level variables.

The ability to actually create a derived grid is not actually new, there's always been a way to do this but the expressions were always a bit complicated to make it happen.

What is it that Reports for Surveys is doing when I create a new grid variable

When you select the variables that you want to place into the grid in Reports for Surveys and tell it to make a new Grid variable what its actually doing in the underlying metadata is something like this (I've intentionally simplified the metadata here for readability):

 NEWGRID "" loop {
	Rating_BrandA "BrandA",
	Rating_BrandB "BrandB",
	Rating_BrandC "BrandC
} fields
(
	Rating "how do you rate this brand?" categorical [1]
	{ use \\ratingList -  } expression ("EvaluateDerivedIteration(LevelID)");
) expand grid;

What's the magic going on here?

There are 2 things to really think about with this bit of metadata:

  1. The category names (category ID's) for the iterator of the grid match the question name of top level question they look up.
  2. The expression EvaluateDerivedIteration(LevelID) is added to the Rating question inside the grid.

So in summary whats the EvaluateDerivedIteration function doing here?

The function is taking the name of the LevelID (e.g. Rating_BrandA) and returning the value of that variable down levelled into the grid level, its a short hand of some much more complicated expressions.

Can I use this in Professional (nee mrStudio) or other programs which access metadata?

The short answer here is yes, although SPSS has chosen not to document this function that doesn't mean the function isn't in the Function Library, it does exist and you can use it, SPSS won't probably support its use, but there are reasons you might want to use it such as:

  • You have flat data and you want grids and you don't want your end users of Reports for Surveys to have to create these grids on their own.
  • You want a lot more control over the Grid you are trying to produce than you could get within the User Interface, for instance you want to change its orientation properties and that kind of thing.
  • You are scripting your tables and you want grids but you don't want to have to set them up in Reports for Surveys UI to use them.

Tips on setting up custom grids using EvaluateDerivedIteration:

  1. The inside variable (e.g. Rating) you are making should have a source type of sExpression
  2. The list should be referenced by the Rating variable or copied in and the noDeriveElements property should be set up (actually we didn't try without it might work anyway)
  3. The categories (iterators) of the grid have to match actual "next level up" question names so that the LevelID can be matched up to a question name.
  4. The mlExpand property has to be set you can't use this function on an unbounded level, the iterator MUST be categorical for it to work.

If you would like more information on adding richness to your data in PASW Data Collection, feel free to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 
PASW Data Collection (Dimensions) Serivces Overview

Introducing forgetdata’s Dimensions / PASW Data Collection Service...

· Do you need additional training or hands on advice on a specific area of using Dimensions?

· Are you in the process of setting up a tracking study and need help?

· Are you struggling with your Dimensions data processing projects?

· Do you have a cumbersome project that you would like taken off your hands?

If you have answered yes to any of the above, then we may be able to help you.
Read more...
 
Building nested tables without using nests

Introduction

When you are making reports/tables/charts etc. frequently there’s some need to nest a variable in order to create a breakdown of a variable. Thankfully Reports for Surveys/Professional makes this all very trivial and has nice support for nesting.

For example you can make tables like this:

its pretty easy to do. However there are times when nesting is a bit of a pain and it can be for any of the following reasons and more:

  • Nesting can make the table harder to read because its making the top or side into a hierarchy, when the inside of the nest (age in this case) is a variable with lots of categories it can be pretty hard to tell whether which outside part you are looking at.
  • You can’t sort values which split over multiple nests, for instance if you wanted to horizontally sort the above table into the order of the enjoyment, you will get the Male values sorted then the Female values sorted.
  • Hide rules don’t work with nests if you want to hide empty columns and some of the inner variables items are empty they don’t hide nicely.
  • Sometimes nesting doesn’t give you the charts you really want, and sometimes it really doesn’t give you what you would like when you export tables to Excel/PowerPoint/Word etc..

Read more...