Getting started with reports

IntelliSurvey features a powerful reporting interface. Much of what traditionally is outsourced to data processing can be performed online, within the same software, without exporting data. The UI (user interface) connects you with your survey data and is easy to understand and manipulate.

Permissions

Permissions and privacy are taken seriously. To minimize risk, we strongly recommend that all users have the least privileged role that provides the permissions necessary to perform their duties. 

In regards to reports and data cuts, anyone with the survey role of Manager or higher can view all data cuts and reports in a given survey. However, all users with lower survey permissions can only see reports and data cuts created by other users within their same organization/domain. In more general terms, this means you should only see the data you need to see at all times. If you find yourself unable to perform the functions you need to due to these restrictions, reach out to the survey Manager to adjust your role.

Overview of applets

Any survey role greater than a Limited Reports Viewer can create and view most reports. Depending on the user's role, there may be restrictions on a few reporting applets. All reporting applets can be found in the Survey Navigation menu in the Reports button group.

Deliverables (saved reports)

The Deliverables applet is your centralized location for all saved reports and saved exported files. This applet allows you to view, edit/update, download, or upload existing reports or previously exported files. This applet also supports bundled saved deliverables known as digests. Digests combine multiple reports and/or Excel files into a single, downloadable file. Lastly, this applet provides a shortcut to create a new export.

Topline, Frequency, and Base Counts

There are three reporting applets that provide overviews by question: Topline Reports, Frequency Reports, and Base Counts. We suggest you use Topline reports for data visualization and deliverables, and Frequency and Base Counts reports for internal data reviews.

Topline reports generate a separate tile for each survey field, except for tables and "looped" questions, which receive a summary or grid tile. Weighting used to correct differences between sample demographics can be applied to this report type. Moreover, tiles can be highly customized. There is a learning curve, but it is a very powerful tool for data visualization. 

Use case - If you find yourself saying, "I need this question's responses broken out in percentages, then cut by country, and then cut again by X brand users," then this is the reporting tool for you. Also, many clients export their data directly from this applet, and copy it over to their customized PowerPoint deck.

Frequency reports provide a quick overview of survey field counts, base sizes, and percentages rendered in HTML. This report loads lots of data, very fast. Unlike a Topline report, tables, blocks, and loops will not include a summary field displaying the overall results, and instead will display each question-row or iteration as its own table.

Use case - Often this report is used in Soft Launch data reviews to confirm base sizes and skip patterns are correctly programmed.

Base Counts is a report which allows you to see the number of responses, or counts, for each survey field. This report is displayed in a table, with the number of respondents who provided an answer for each field.

Use case - This report is most commonly used to quickly see which questions have no responses and aren't being seen by respondents.

Crosstabs

Crosstab reports are also known as cross-tabulation reports, contingency tables, or banner books. Along with Topline reports, this is one of the most requested and used report types. Crosstab reports allow users to examine the data by subgroups and create frequency tables cut by the options of the column variables. These tables can be displayed as percentages and/or counts. Additional metrics, such as nets that combine responses, or summary statistics (e.g., standard deviations), can be included as well. Weights can be applied to this report. Even Statistical Significance Tests can be ran within this same applet. 

Use case - This report helps show relationships between the main categories of the survey with other subgroups and important data points. 

Response

Response reports display actual field data, organized in a grid format, and displays option codes and field names in much the same format as it appears in its Excel output. Open-end responses appear inline in the data columns, with closed-end responses defaulting to displaying option IDs.

Use case - The Response report is the ideal view to look at individual responses to a limited question subset without needing to actually export data.

Understanding respondent statuses

Every individual respondent within a survey data set has a status. The status indicates if the respondent is still progressing through the survey, stopped, or finished. Respondent statuses can be thought of as belonging to one of two groups — open or closed. Respondents with open or "non-finished" statuses may continue to take the survey, provided the survey is not closed (shut down). Meanwhile, respondents with closed statuses are considered "finished" and cannot continue interacting with the survey. The most common statuses are described below. For a full list of statuses, please read Understanding respondent statuses.

Creating new reports

With the exception of the Crosstabs report which needs fields selected for each axis, the reporting applets look and function mostly the same. To create a report in any of the reporting applets, you will need to use the Reporting Record Selector and the Reporting Field Selector to define which records (respondents) and which questions, variables, or other fields, should be included in the reports.

All reporting applets have an Actions menu where you'll find common tasks such as Save and the file download options available for that specific report type. We suggest you save your report. You can come back to it later in Deliverables, where you can open it again and edit it if need be. Once it's saved, you can also schedule it to be emailed to you/the team on a set frequency. 

Creating new exports

You can create exported files in one of two ways – either via the New Export button in the header of the Deliverables applet, or by selecting New Export from the Data button group in the Survey Navigation menu. 

This is similar to creating any other report, but this allows you to select a file type such as Excel, SPSS, etc., to export the raw data. Unlike other reports, an export is not editable once you have saved it and closed the applet or tab. Exports can be found later and "rerun" or "downloaded" in Deliverables.

Data cuts

Data cuts are filters that allow users to define the scope of respondents included in a report. To create, edit, or organize these filters, use the Data Cuts & Banners applet. This applet allows users to manipulate filters without directly editing the survey source, as well as the ability to combine and intersect filters, so they may be used in any report. 

All reports and exports have the ability to apply existing data cuts in the Record Selector field, or create new ones with the Expression Builder feature. When you apply a data cut to a report, it will effectively cut the base size of the full report. Topline reports have the capability to apply a data cut to individual tiles as well as the full report.

"Dev" and "Pub" modes

Everyone needs a "sand box" where they can safely program and test without putting the live survey data at risk. This is what the Dev/Pub mode paradigm provides. There are two different versions of a survey that are available to review at any one time:

• View the survey in "Dev" (development) mode to see the most recent version. This is the preview or "sandbox" where every new change applied will be seen when the survey page is refreshed or submitted. 
• View the survey in "Pub" (published) mode to enjoy a more stable review space. When a survey version is published, that means the survey code, files, spreadsheets, and translations are locked in place until the next version is published. This is the version that live respondents will experience. 

It is perfectly normal to have dozens or even over 100 development versions, but the versions you decide to publish would typically be much less.

The Dev Pub toggle

Depending on the report type, you may have a Dev|Pub Toggle available. When Dev is chosen, as shown below by the white highlighted button, the report displays questions based on the current Dev version of the survey. Selecting Pub displays questions based on the current Pub version of the survey. If the most recent version of the survey has been published, then the toggle will be inactive, and both halves will be blue. 

Note, some reporting applets display a modified version of the Dev|Pub Toggle and may read "Pub Only" (such as the Quota Manager or Crosstabs applets). These applets are intentionally designed not to toggle between Dev and Pub versions.

Closing

Creating reports seems simple enough, but always remember, data is what ultimately drives your reports. In order to have impactful data, the survey content should be designed and structured by an expert team. The survey should respect the full QA process and Soft Launch "data checks" to avoid any errors. Data should be reviewed thoroughly to remove any poor quality respondents. Clean, accurate data will help you create insightful reports. 

If you have a question about current functionalities, need customized reports, or even wish to share your ideas about improving/adding features, you can reach out to Support.