Exports are survey data files that you can download for use with programs such as Excel or SPSS. To create a new export, click Export Survey Data in the Analyze button group, or click the New Export button while in the Deliverables applet.
Overview
Creating an export is similar to creating a report. The Exports applet contains many of the same menus and options as the Report Builder tool that is found in most of our reporting applets.
Like the Report Builder, you can use the Select Fields section (a.k.a., Field Selector) to determine which fields (questions and variables) to include in your export and whether to base it on the latest published or draft version of the survey.
The Select Records section (a.k.a., Record Selector) can then be used to apply various filters to determine which respondents should be included. Filter options may be combined as needed. Records must meet all the selected criteria to be included in the report.
Additional formatting options are available under Advanced Export Options, depending on the file type.
File types
The following file type options are currently available for exports.
| File Type | Description |
| ASCII Text, Delimited | Creates delimited rows of text in a basic file that can be read as .txt or .csv. |
| ASCII Fixed Field | Works with a mapping file that describes how many sequential characters from each row are assigned to each field description. |
| Excel 95-2003 | Creates an older Excel-compatible export (.xls) with size constraints of 65k rows by 256 columns. The spreadsheet includes a tab describing each field. |
| Excel (.xlsx) | Default; creates an Excel-compatible export (.xlsx) with size constraints of 1M rows by 16k columns. The spreadsheet includes a tab describing each field. |
| SPSS Binary Format (.sav) | Creates a file in a proprietary data format for use with IBM's SPSS statistical analysis platform. |
| Triple-S |
Saves the file in a "survey interchange standard" format, enabling survey data sharing between platforms. |
| Verticalized (Tableau) | Displays responses in a "verticalized" output with a single column for each question and multiple rows for each respondent record. Only certain field types are verticalized (e.g., checkboxes are, whereas radios are not). |
| Quota Panels | Creates an export of the quota totals and caps set in the Quotas applet. |
| Flattened, Delimited |
Downloads data organized by respondent record, with all selected fields and listed vertically by respondent. Rendered as a .csv file. |
| Verticalized by List (.xlsx) | BETA; takes a single list from the survey to display vertically ("verticalized") in order to analyze it alongside the list's related survey fields. Exported as an Excel file. |
Advanced options
The Advanced Export Options menu contains additional file formatting options. Which options are available will depend on the selected file type.
| Advanced Option | Description |
| Compress data file | Exports the file in ZIP format. This helps reduce the file size for large exports. |
| Show response text for closed end questions | Replaces numeric option codes with each option's text. |
| Expand stacked fields |
Works with stacked data sets. In such cases, proxy variables store data, which allows for a neater, more compact data set. Expanding fields exports data as though it were unstacked. |
| Include description row (XLSX) | Adds the question text (or description, if available) in the row below the column labels. For use with Excel exports only. |
Within header row field names, replace all _ characters with . |
Replaces underscores in the header row field names with periods. Both characters are editable, allowing for other types of replacements. |
| Include system variables | Includes all fields that fall into the System fields chapter. Some fields may be excluded if you don't have the permissions required to view them. |
| Use Alt Labels | Replaces question IDs (or labels) with alternate labels for any questions or tables that include the alt label tag. |
| Affix variable label in front of all variable descriptions (recommended for Q) |
Adds the question ID to the start of every field, e.g., "Q1. Age" instead of "Age". This option is only available for SPSS Binary Format (.sav) exports. Selecting this option is recommended if the .sav file will be imported into Q Research Software. |
Downloading and saving exports
After selecting your export settings, click Generate Export. A progress pop-up will appear as the export is processed. You may navigate to other applets while the export is being created. Once the file is ready, you may download the export or save it for future usage.
Saved exports can be accessed and modified in the Deliverables applet. Before downloading a saved export, rerun it to ensure it's up-to-date.
Response reports vs. Excel exports
Response reports are similar to Excel exports but have some notable differences. Response reports display the data for checkbox (multiselect) questions in a single column. If more than one option was checked, the options are presented as a comma-separated list.
Below is an example of a Response report, downloaded in Excel format, with the checkbox question Q2.
By contrast, Excel exports display the data for checkbox questions in a multi-column format, where each option has its own column. Each column has a value of '1' (selected) or '0' (not selected). The column headers have the option number appended to the question number, such as 'Q2.5' for Q2, option 5.
Below is the same example report, but downloaded as an Excel export.
Additionally, Excel export files include a second tab called "Questions," which maps the question and option IDs to the values displayed in the column headers. Response reports do not include this tab.
Version Notice: This article covers features in our r9/IS Pro platform. If you're looking for information on this topic related to r8, see Creating a new export.
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