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Simmons Choices III

Subject Guides: Business & Economics

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The Home Screen The Dictionary Box is on the left, Answer Box in the center, and on the right, boxes to develop columns, rows and filters. Across the bottom is the Coding Box. Icons at the top and bottom are used to manipulate data choices.

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Set Up Filters, Rows and Columns

Choose a Filter: Filters, also known as the base or universe, allow you to survey a particular group such as women, specific age groups, etc. To survey the total US population, you may leave the Filter Box blank. To survey a subset of the population:

1. Set the boxes on the right to filters by clicking on Filter at the bottom.
2. Set the box on the left to Questions.
3. As an example, click on the + in front of Lifestyle (Demographics) in the Question Box to display the available options in that category. Choose sex, then highlight the group you wish to study (male, female, etc.) To choose two or more items, hold down the Control (Ctrl) key when selecting.
4. Move your choice to the Filter Box by clicking on the Filter icon directly above the Answer Box.

Set Up Columns: Columns generally contain product information; for example, types of telephones or popcorn brands.

1. Reset the right box by clicking on Columns/Rows at the bottom.
2. Click on the Binoculars icon above the Questions Box and the Dictionary Search will open.

3. Type a word that you wish to search (such as popcorn) in the box, then click Search.
4. From the list that appears, highlight your item and click Find in Dictionary.
5. In the Questions Box, highlight the items you want from the choices presented.
6. Click on the Columns icon above the Answer Box (2nd icon from left) to move your choices to the Column Box.
7. As an alternative to searching with the Binoculars icon, scroll down the complete Questions list until you find the items you want, select, and click on Columns icon.

Set Up Rows: Rows generally have demographic, psychographic, or media information, such as household income, buying style, magazine titles, etc.

1. Select in the same manner as column information.
2. Move to the Rows Box by clicking on the Row icon (3rd from left) above the Answer Box.

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Run a CrossTab Report

1. When filter, column, and row selection is complete, click the Run Analysis icon from the Menu Bar at the top of the screen.
2. When processing is complete and the Viewer opens, a list of available folders appears on the left. Select the last Untitled folder, click on the + to view the available files. Click Crosstab View to see the items you selected.
3. Zoom in or out using the Magnifier icons on the top menu bar.
4. Change the components of the view by toggling the icons on the far right of the menu bar (not visible below).
5. If you have chosen more than one filter/base, view each by clicking on the Change Base Icon .
6. Sort the results into ascending or descending order by clicking on the column or row to be sorted, then on the Sort Arrow icons .

Interpret the Data, or What the Numbers Mean

Total - Number of adults age 18+ in the US/Simmons Total Population.
Sample -- the actual number of respondents to the Simmons survey who met the specifications of both the Row and the Column.
000's -- the number of adults in the U.S. population who meet the specifications of both the Row and the Column, a projection calculated statistically and based on the actual number of survey respondents. When reading, add three 000's to the end of the number.
Vert% -- Vertical % or Percent Down. The number of people who have a given characteristic, expressed as a percent, as defined by the Column heading.
Horz% -- Horizontal % or Percent Across. The number of people who have a given characteristic, expressed as a percent, as defined by the Row heading.
Index -- Indicates the likelihood, compared to the total population, of meeting the specifications of both Column and Row. The base number for comparison is 100.
Base -- Percentage of the currently selected base/filter that the cell represents.

BEWARE! -- A single asterisk "*" in your crosstab result means the projections are relatively unstable and should be used with caution. Two asterisks "**" means the projections are from thirty or fewer interviews. These results are not sufficiently reliable to be safely used alone.

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Edit a Crosstab
DO NOT exit your crosstab by closing the program! Choose the Return to Choices icon to go back to the Home Screen. Edit your selections by right clicking on the item and then Delete, or highlight selection and use Delete key. You may also edit your selections by using the Edit Table icon located on the top Menu Bar. In the Edit Table, the standard Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Undo commands may be used. When editing is complete, return to the Home Screen and run a new crosstab.

Print or Save your Crosstab Results
To print, click File in the upper left, then Print for a paper copy. To save the crosstab results to a disk, click File, then Export Spreadsheet (CSV file) and in the CSV Export Box highlight all the Cell Elements, click O.K. The results are saved as a .csv file and are supported by Microsoft Excel.

Start a New Search
If necessary, return to the home screen, then click File in the upper left corner and choose New.

Exit Simmons
Click File in the upper left corner, then choose Exit. Be sure to close both the viewer and the home screen.

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Using the Coding Box: Complex Searches
In the Coding Box at the bottom of the Home Screen you can create a complex search profile using "logical operators"--a filter/base group, for example, of females who are age 25-29 and who live in the South. In Simmons, any of four logical operators can be used to link your search item choices together and to indicate how the link is to be used.

Using the Coding Box: Logical Operators

And: When using "And" all criteria must be satisfied, i.e. people who are both female and live in the South.
Or: When using "Or" at least one of the criteria must be satisfied, i.e. people who are either female or who live in the South.
Not: When using "Not" one criteria and not the other is satisfied, i.e. people who are female but not resident in the South.
Xor: "Xor" will retrieve either people who are female or people who live in the South, but not both. If they are both female and Southern, they are excluded.

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Using the Coding Box: Setting up a Complex Search

Move Items to the Coding Box: There are two ways.

1. To move directly from the Questions Box to the Coding Box, highlight the selected item, and click the Insert into Coding icon above the Answer Box. If you have several items in a category that are to be linked with a common logical operator (i.e., age 18 or age 19 or age 20 or age 21), highlight all items, right click and select Add to Coding and the appropriate logical operator.
2. To move items to the Coding Box from the filters, columns or rows boxes, highlight the item, right click, then select Move to and Coding Box.

Insert Logical Operators: When items are in the Coding Box, use the icons at the bottom of that box to insert the logical operators of your choice, e.g., Female and Age 25-29 and Census South. You may also need to add parentheses so that the logical operators function correctly, e.g., Male or (Female and Age 25-29).

For advanced searchers: If you have a group, such as men aged 18, 19, 20, or 21, and you want to look at each age level individually (e.g., male and age 18, male and age 19, etc.) but want to avoid setting up and moving each one separately between the Coding and other boxes, use this method: Select Male from the Answer Box and send to the Coding Box. Next, insert AND into the Coding Box using the icon and then type "male and" into the Description Box above the coding area. Select all 4 ages from the Answer Box, right click, select Combine and choose the area where you want the group sent.

Move Items from the Coding Box to Filter, Row, or Column: When ready to move your newly created complex search to the appropriate box, highlight and choose the appropriate icon from the bottom menu bar to move to the filter, column or row box.

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Media Ranking: Use this feature to determine what media (magazine titles and/or television shows) would be good choices for your chosen demographic(s).

Set up Search: Start a new search if necessary and set up filter and columns. To choose media, for print media titles, click Media at the bottom of Question Box. Choose the titles to include and click on the Rows icon. For other types of media or additional questions about print media, click Questions and choose from the category list. When finished, click the Run Analysis (crosstab) icon on the top menu bar. Open the Crosstab view to see the result.

To Rank or Sort: Highlight the row or column you want to sort, click the descending or ascending Sort Arrow icons on the Menu Bar, then choose the criteria you want to rank (i.e., index, vert%, etc.).

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Graph Results: To show the results of a crosstab graphically, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Chart icon.
2. From the Chart Parameters box, choose Data and Chart types, also select the Horizontal and Vertical axis to be used in the graph.

3. If necessary, enable macros in Excel to allow the graph to be displayed.

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Created and maintained by Karmen Crowther, Business Librarian
Last revision: 8/07