This article describes how to run a QScript that scans through the tables you have selected in your report and creates a new table to help you identify the most interesting results from your selection. Each of your selected tables gets a score between 0 and 5 with higher scores indicating that the table contains a more interesting result, and lower scores indicating that the table does not contain any interesting results. It then helps to visualize the results by creating a heatmap.
In this example, there are several hundred crosstabs and SUMMARY tables in the project. All of the tables in the report were selected before running the script. The initial table produced by the QScript looks like this:
There is one row for each of the questions featured among the rows of the selected tables, and one column for each of the questions featured among the columns of the selected tables. Each cell contains a score from 0 to 5 indicating the z-Score of the most significant results shown in the table for those two questions. Only a small part of the table is shown above.
The table shows that there is a high score (5) for the crosstab between "Work status" and "Allows to keep in touch", and a comparatively smaller score (2) for the crosstab between "Work status" and "Technology fascinating".
A heatmap is a great way to visualize the table above. The Qscript will automatically create a heatmap using the table generated by the script. The heatmap shades the cells darker when the pair of questions produce a more interesting result and shades the cells lighter when the most interesting result is less significant. You can hover your mouse over the cells in the heatmap to pick out which combinations produce the most interesting results, and then go and inspect those tables further to determine which results are of most interest to your research.
Requirements
More than one summary table or crosstab. Learn how to create lots of crosstabs at once here.
Method
- Select the folder in the Reports tree that contains the summary tables and/or crosstabs.
- Go to Automate > Browse Online Library > Significance Testing in Tables > Identify Interesting Tables.
Technical Details
The 0-5 scores for each table are worked out based on the z-Statistics of the table. For each table, the script identifies the z-Statistic with the largest magnitude (absolute value), and caps this value at 5. The z-Statistics on a table can be checked by selecting Statistics - Cells > z-Statistic.
The z-Statistics are used by Q's statistical testing to indicate the lengths of arrows shown in cells of the table. Where cells are determined to be significant the largest Z will correspond to the cell with the largest arrow.
The table that is produced by this script is created with an R Output.
The results in this table are static and not linked to the underlying data. They are determined at the time the script runs, and they will not update if the data changes. If you update your project with new data, or change the structure of the variables in your project, then you should run this script again to get an updated reading of the results.
Next
How to Create Lots of Crosstabs
3 Ways to Quickly Sift Through 3,050 Crosstabs and Find the Magic One