|
WinCross Frequently Asked Questions
APPLICATION LIMITS
Q: What is the logic limit in
WinCross?
A: 480
characters is the limit when
entering logic in a banner, filter
or row.
—
Back to top —
Q: What if my logic requires
more than 480 characters?
A: Use
the ASSIGN
statement in the Glossary to
create new variables.
—
Back to top —
Q: How many rows can be
displayed on
a single table?
A:
6,000.
—
Back to top —
Q: What are the record/file size
limits in WinCross?
A:
Limit of 65,536
characters and 32,768
variables.
—
Back to top —
Q: How many banner columns can I
have?
A: You
can have a maximum of 255
banner columns per banner.
—
Back to top —
Q: What are “reserved” WinCross
variable names?
A: WinCross
allows for the use of variable
names. However, some variable
names are ineligible in that they
are reserved for the exclusive use
of
WinCross.
Variable names
cannot use spaces, commas or
WinCross-reserved words such as
NET, MEAN, or SUB.
Please refer to
Appendix "D" in the
WinCross User Guide for a list of reserved words and letters.
—
Back to top —
GENERAL
Q: What are the general rules
for rounding in WinCross?
A: You
can specify how you want WinCross
to round percents and statistics
in Setup|Job Settings|Rounding.
There are two
options for rounding. The 1st
option is to round up values
over 5 and round down values
under 5. For rounding equal to
5, round to the nearest even
number. The 2nd option is to
always round up values of 5 or
more and round down values less
than 5.
Rounding in
WinCross is based upon three
general rules:
Rule 1
- If the remainder beyond
the last digit to be reported is
less than 5, drop the last digit.
Rounding to one decimal place, the
number 5.3467 becomes 5.3.
Rule 2
- If the remainder is
greater than 5, increase the final
digit by 1. The number 5.798
becomes 5.8 if rounding to 1
digit.
Rule 3
- To prevent rounding bias, if the
remainder is exactly 5, then round
the last digit to the closest
even number. Thus the
number 3.55 (rounded to 1 digit)
would be 3.6 (rounding up) and the
number 6.450 would round to 6.4
(rounding down) if rounding to
1 decimal. When the
number to the left of the 5 is
even, no rounding occurs.
For example, 4.225 would become
4.22. When the number
to the left of 5 is odd, rounding
will occur. For example,
4.215 would become 4.22.
See page 12
in Hurlburt, R. (1994)
Comprehending Behavioral
Statistics, Brooks/Cole, Pacific
Grove, CA.
—
Back to top —
Q: How can I look up an
interview respondent who may
have provided “dirty” data?
A: You
can use the TEST
statement in the Glossary to
search for respondents that break
certain conditions.
—
Back to top —
Q: How do you select only
certain tables to run?
A:
Depress and hold the CTRL
key while individually clicking on
those tables you want to run, or
use the Edit Selections
button in Run|Tables.
—
Back to top —
Q: Why won't my SPSS file open
in WinCross?
A: Your
file may be an uncompressed SPSS
file -
WinCross only supports
compressed SPSS files.
—
Back to top —
Q: Why doesn't WinCross
recognize my variable names?
A:
1) your data file isn’t
open or
2) you don’t have variable names
as the first line of your data
file or
3) your logic variables do not
match your data file variables.
—
Back to top —
Q: What is the difference
between a table mean and row
mean?
A: The difference between a table
mean and row mean is based on the
type of table you’re creating. A
table mean is used where every row
in the calculation of the mean has
only one value. If the rows
represent value ranges, then the #
(pound symbol) operator must be
used to give the row a single
value for calculations.
A row mean is
appropriate when rows represent a
value range and the mean is to be
calculated off the actual
distribution of data. In that
event, a row is created with the
appropriate text and logic showing
the value range you want to use.
In the Row Options dialog box (Setup|Tables|Row
Options) you should select the
appropriate statistics (Mean,
Standard deviation, Standard
error, etc.).
—
Back to top —
Q: When would I want to use
indexing?
A: Use
indexing to create variables which
“stack” or “align” data when
derotation of the data would
otherwise be necessary.
Example of when
to use indexed variables:
You have a
series of questions asked for
different products or brands. Each
product/brand does not have a
unique set of columns or variables
for the questions asked in the
series.
The similar
variables are “stacked” in an
INDEX table in the glossary.
Variables within each stack must
have the same field width.
I1
I2
I3
I4
IDX (1) INDEX
{Q1_A ,Q2_A ,Q3_A ,Q4_A }
IDX (2) INDEX {Q1_B ,Q2_B ,Q3_B ,Q4_B}
IDX (3) INDEX {Q1_C ,Q2_C ,Q3_C ,Q4_C}
(Items in bold
are not part of the glossary index
table, but are shown to illustrate
the logic that will be used for
columns and rows.)
I# corresponds
to an indexed variable (column).
IDX corresponds
to an individual level of indexed
variables (row).
These labels
can be used in any logic statement
in the tables, banners or
glossary.
EXAMPLE:
Respondents
were asked a series of questions
regarding three different
products:
|
1st Prod Asked |
2nd Prod Asked |
3rd Prod Asked |
|
Q1 |
Q1A |
Q1B |
Q1C |
|
Q2 |
Q2A |
Q2B |
Q2C |
|
Q3 |
Q3A |
Q3B |
Q3C |
|
Q4 |
Q4A |
Q4B |
Q4C |
|
Q5 |
Q5A |
Q5B |
Q5C |
|
Q6 |
Q6A |
Q6B |
Q6C |
Q1=Product Code
(Prod. A=1, Prod. B=2, Prod. C=3,
Prod. D=4, Prod. E=5, Prod. F=6)
Q2=First time purchasing this
type of product (yes/no)?
Q3=Number of purchases made for
this product (actual number in
data)
Q4=Customer Service Rep was
helpful (yes/no)?
Q5=Dollars spent (actual number
in data)
Q6=Fair price (yes/no)?
Later in the
questionnaire, respondents were
asked to rate two of three
companies and state the date of
their first purchase from the same
two companies rated:
|
1st Company |
2nd Company |
|
Q12 |
Q12A |
Q12B |
|
Q13 |
Q13A |
Q13B |
|
Q14 |
Q14A |
Q14B |
|
Q15 |
Q15A |
Q15B |
|
Q16 |
Q16A |
Q16B |
Q12=Store Code
(Store A=1, Store B=2, Store C=3)
Q13=Rating scale (Excellent=5,
Poor=1)
Q14=Rating scale (Excellent=5,
Poor=1)
Q15=Rating scale (Excellent=5,
Poor=1)
Q16=Year first purchased from
this store
GLOSSARY:
INDEX
{Q1A,Q2A,Q3A,Q4A,Q5A,Q6A,Q12A,Q13A,Q14A,Q15A,Q16A}
INDEX
{Q1B,Q2B,Q3B,Q4B,Q5B,Q6B,Q12B,Q13B,Q14B,Q15B,Q16B}
INDEX
{Q1C,Q2C,Q3C,Q4C,Q5C,Q6C,DUMMY,DUMMY,DUMMY,DUMMY,DUMMY1}
|
I1 corresponds to variables
Q1A, Q1B and Q1C |
(Q1) |
|
I2 corresponds to variables
Q2A, Q2B and Q2C |
(Q2) |
|
I3 corresponds to variables
Q3A, Q3B and Q3C |
(Q3) |
|
I4 corresponds to variables
Q4A, Q4B and Q4C |
(Q4) |
|
I5 corresponds to variables
Q5A, Q5B and Q5C |
(Q5) |
|
I6 corresponds to variables
Q6A, Q6B and Q6C |
(Q6) |
|
I7 corresponds to variables
Q12A, Q12B and DUMMY |
(Q12 and a blank field) |
|
I8 corresponds to variables
Q13A, Q13B and DUMMY |
(Q13 and a blank field) |
|
I9 corresponds to variables
Q14A, Q14B and DUMMY |
(Q14 and a blank field) |
|
I10 corresponds to variables
Q15A, Q15B and DUMMY |
(Q15 and a blank field) |
|
I11 corresponds to variables
Q16A, Q16B and DUMMY1 |
(Q16 and a blank field) |
TABLE:
Following is an
example of the logic for a table
for Q3:
|
Stub Text |
Row Logic |
|
1 - 10 |
I3 (01-10) |
|
11 - 20 |
I3 (11-20) |
|
21 - 30 |
I3 (21-30) |
The filter for
this table must include I# or IDX
(#) in the logic:
Following are
examples of filters to use in
place of TN (all respondents) in a
table with index logic:
|
I1 (1-6) |
Corresponds to the codes for
all 6 products in Q1 |
|
IDX (1-3) |
Corresponds to all 3 rows in
the INDEX table set up in
the glossary |
Following is an
example of a filter used to base
the table to one product only:
|
I1(1) |
Filters the table to only
include Prod. A |
BANNER:
Example of the
logic for a banner for Q1:
|
PROD A |
PROD B |
PROD C |
PROD D |
PROD E |
PROD F |
|
I1 (1) |
I1 (2) |
I1 (3) |
I1 (4) |
I1 (5) |
I1 (6) |
COMPLEX LOGIC:
Indexed
variables & non-indexed variables
may be combined in logic
statements in any order.
Example: I1 (3)
& Q20 (2,4) can also be written
as:
Q20 (2,4) & I1 (3)
SCAN:
Scan logic may
be used with Indexed variables to
scan across more than one
consecutive indexed variable. The
scan will scan columns or
variables in the data, not index
columns, .
Example: I8
S3(5)—Corresponds to all
“Excellent” ratings in Q13, Q14
and Q15
(Since
WinCross
cannot “net” a respondent’s
data when using the
INDEX option, a respondent
answering “Excellent” to Q13, Q14
and Q15 in the above example would
count as 3 in the “Excellent” row
frequency.)
REPEAT:
The REPEAT
feature can be used in the index
table. This is a form of shorthand
only. It does not reduce the
number of index table columns, nor
does it in any way combine or
relate the variables to one
another. A string of three
variables designated in the index
table as “Q21A R3” would still be
three separate variables. If you
wanted to include all three
variables in a table, you would
use the
SCAN feature (see above
example). The variables to be
designated by the
REPEAT feature must be of
equal width.
The above index
table example could also be
written as:
INDEX {Q1A
R2,Q3A,Q4A,Q5A,Q6A,Q12A
R4,Q16A}
INDEX {Q1B
R2,Q3B,Q4B,Q5B,Q6B,Q12B
R4,Q16B}
INDEX {Q1C
R2,Q3C,Q4C,Q5C,Q6C,DUMMY
R4,DUMMY1}
Variables Q1A
and Q2A are still designated as
“I1” and “I2” just as
variable Q3A is still designated as
“I3.”
Note:
When more than one series of
questions needs to be indexed
(whether the next series relates
to the same products or another
variable altogether), all
variables must be incorporated
into one index table in the
glossary. In the above example, Q2
through Q6 (I2 through I6) relate
to the product from Q1 (I1).
However, Q13 through Q16 (I8
through I11) relate to the store
from Q12 (I7).
Because all
index rows (IDX 1 through IDX 3 in
the above example) must have the
same number of variables, “dummy,”
or empty, variables must be placed
wherever there is no applicable
variable. In the above example,
Q12 through Q16 are only asked for
two stores for each respondent.
The index table has three rows,
however, because each respondent
was asked Q1 through Q6 for three
products. Hence, blank variables
are used to fill the last row for
I7 through I11 (variables DUMMY,
DUMMY R4 and DUMMY1).
When dummy
variables must be used, it is
necessary to either use existing
variables that are blank
throughout your data file or to
add length or a record to your
data file.
GLOSSARY:
ADDLEN 50 = Adds 50 blank
columns (for each respondent) to
the end of your data file.
GLOSSARY:
ADDREC 1 = Adds a full blank
record (for each respondent) to
your data file.
—
Back to top —
Q: How do I write output to
Excel?
A: WinCross
tables can be output to Excel.
When
Run|Tables|Excel Options is selected,
WinCross creates an Excel file in addition to the
WinCross output file. You
also have the option to save
your crosstab report using
File|Save|Save Report As.
Saving to Excel using
File|Save|Save Report As
produces an image of your
WinCross tables and does not
contain the actual values the
way the Excel report from
Run|Tables|Excel Options
does.
Other considerations in
Run|Tables:
Make sure you have also selected the
Create tables option.
Choose the Directory where you want
WinCross to write the Excel file(s).
— Back to top —
Q: How is weighting in WinCross
handled?
A: WinCross
has the ability to weight your
crosstabs. This is done using
Setup|Banners|Edit Banner|Weights
and must be done after banner
creation.
Weights can be
created in three ways:
1. Weight variables can be part of your original data file
2. You can use glossary statements to create weighted variables
3. You can specify an actual value for a weight
when you set up banners
Weights can be specified with an
actual weight value, with the
card/column location that holds
the weight variable or the
variable name for variable data. An actual
weight can have up to 12 digits,
can be positive or negative and
can have decimal places.
— Back to top —
Q: How do I create a summary table
using SPSS data?
A:
Mean Summary tables are
easily created using the
Summary of Means option in
Setup|Express Tables for SPSS
Data. You select the group
of variables, choose the code
value or range of code values
for the rows and WinCross
creates the table for you. The
Question Title from each
variable selected becomes the
row text for each row and the
Code Value(s) or range of
Code Values specified
becomes the row logic.
Top/Bottom Box Summary tables
can also be easily created using
the Summary of Frequencies
option in Setup|Express
Tables for SPSS Data. You
select the group of variables,
choose the code value or range
of code values for the rows and
the code value or range of code
values for the percentaging base
of each row and WinCross creates
the table for you. The
Question Title from each
variable selected becomes the
row text for each row and the
Code Value(s) or range of
Code Values specified
becomes the row logic. WinCross
automatically creates two sets
of rows, one set to be used for
percentaging bases with the
Hide row (HR) option
specified and the second set of
rows is automatically created
with the percentaging base
specified.
— Back to top —
Q: How do I create a summary table
using ASCII or non-SPSS variable data?
A: To create a mean summary table, your rows will be the question text for the series of tables you are summarizing. Your logic will be the range of values included in the mean calculation.
Note:
If using ASCII data, simply
replace the variable name in the
examples with the card/column
location.
Mean Summary
Example—Summarize this series of questions:
Please rate the customer service representative on the following, where:
3=Low, 2=Medium, 1=High and 4=Don’t know
Knowledge – Q1A
Professionalism – Q1B
Empathy – Q1C
The mean summary table would be defined as follows:
| Knowledge |
Q1A (1-3) |
| Professionalism |
Q1B (1-3) |
| Empathy |
Q1C (1-3) |
Then choose the mean row option for each of the three rows.
If the scale needs to be reversed, your syntax would be defined as follows:
| Knowledge |
Q1A (1-3)#1=3,3=1 |
| Professionalism |
Q1B (1-3)#1=3,3=1 |
| Empathy |
Q1C (1-3)#1=3,3=1 |
Again, choose the mean row option for each of the three rows.
Top Box Summary
If you want to create a summary of just the high score your rows would be defined as follows:
| Knowledge |
Q1A (1-4) |
| Professionalism |
Q1B (1-4) |
| Empathy |
Q1C (1-4) |
| Knowledge |
Q1A (1) |
| Professionalism |
Q1B (1) |
| Empathy |
Q1C (1) |
The first three lines are the “basing” lines. The last three lines are the lines indicating respondents saying “High.” The “High” lines need to be percentaged off each corresponding “basing” line using the
Setup|Tables|Table Options| Percentage
Off
option.
Since the first three rows are only used for the calculation, you don’t need to show them on your output and can use the
Setup|Tables|Row Options|Hide row
option.
— Back to top —
STATISTICAL TESTING
Q: When
doing significance testing table
lookups, what type of test does
WinCross use?
A: WinCross significance testing is
performed using two-tailed tests.
—
Back to top —
Q: Although I have statistics
set up to run in my banner, they
are not appearing on my tables.
What am I doing wrong?
A:
You must
select Means/Percents/Chi-Square for your table statistics
(Setup|Tables|Statistics) as well as for your banner.
—
Back to top —
Q: What are the formulas
WinCross uses for its
statistical calculations?
A:
The statistical
formulas WinCross
uses are explained in the
Statistical Reference available from the WinCross
Help menu.
—
Back to top —
Q: Why don’t my statistical tests appear on my tables?
A: The option to include statistical testing has been added at the banner level, but has not been selected at the table level.
Choose Setup|Tables, then select the table to which you want to add statistical testing. Next, choose
Statistics, followed by the preferred tests to run. This process only adds statistical testing to the selected table (as opposed to the banner).
Another way to globally add this option to multiple tables is to modify the table statistics. First, choose
Setup|Globally Modify
Tables|Table Statistics.
Choose Means, Percents
and/or Chi-Square. Next, select the tables to apply this to (or choose
Select All), then choose the
Add to existing settings option.
A: Statistical testing has been selected at the table level but not the banner level, or comparison groups in the banner have not been chosen.
Make sure statistical testing has been selected at the banner level. If comparison groups have not been chosen at the banner level, statistical testing selections will not be saved.
WinCross requires that statistical testing be selected at both the table level
AND the banner level.
— Back to top —
Q: How do I interpret the
One-way ANOVA column indicators
on my WinCross table output?
A:
One-way ANOVA tests are performed
on columns of data within each
specified WinCross comparison
group. WinCross will assign a #1
to the first subset of data within
each comparison group where no
significant differences were
found. Likewise, WinCross will
assign a #2 to the next subset of
data within the same comparison
group where no significant
differences were found. This
process continues until all
subsets of data have been examined
for each comparison group.
A column of data can be a member
of multiple subsets of data where
no significant differences were
found. In this case, you will see
multiple One-way ANOVA group
indicators under that column of
the banner on the mean row of your
WinCross report. For example,
#1#2#3 under a column of data
indicates this value is a member
of subset 1, subset 2 and subset 3
for that comparison group.
ERROR MESSAGES
Q: Why do I get a “Field width
does not match code values”
error?
A:
There is a value wider than the
programmed logic (e.g., Q2 (1-99)
or 1/5:2
(1-99) and there is a value higher
than 99).
—
Back to top —
|
