Data Cuts (r9)

Data cuts are filters that allow you to specify which respondents are included in a report. Use the Data Cuts applet to create, edit, and organize data cuts. Data cuts created with the Expression Builder are also saved in this applet.

To access the Data Cuts applet, select the Data Cuts option in the Analyze navigation group.

Overview

The Data Cuts applet displays a list of all existing filters organized into groups. The following groups are provided by default:

• User Data Cuts - The default location for newly created data cuts.
• Default System Data Cuts - These include All records and All completed records.

Comparison groups

You can create new data cut groups by clicking the New Comparison Group button. You can either generate a group using one or more closed-ended questions to create all permutations of field options or start with an empty group to manually add custom data cuts by dragging and dropping.

To edit a group's name, double-click it in the data cuts grid. Only user-created groups can be renamed.

Reorganize data cuts by clicking and dragging. To move multiple data cuts, select the checkboxes on the left, then click and drag.

Updating data cut user permissions

Users with survey roles other than Maker can only view/edit data cuts created by other users from the same organization. The organization is defined by the domain of the user's email address.

Makers can assign other users the View All Datacuts add-on role to allow them to view and edit data cuts from outside their organization. This allows users with lower permissions to use data cuts created by Makers. Alternatively, a Maker can create a data cut for another user without granting them additional permissions by impersonating the user and creating the data cut under their name. 

Creating a data cut

Data cuts are created in two ways: using the Expression Builder or within the Data Cuts applet itself.

To create a data cut with the Data Cuts applet, click the New Data Cut button in the upper right. This opens the Create Data Cut modal, which consists of two panes. The left-hand pane shows all the conditions used in the data cut. Use the right-hand pane to add one or more conditions to the pane on the left.

Start by selecting a field in the right-hand pane. The fields available are based on the latest published version of the survey.

This will produce additional options depending on the type of field selected. Use these options to define the condition as needed.

As you choose the condition settings for the field, the condition on the left will update to match.

If multiple conditions are needed for the data cut, click the Condition button to add another condition. For more information, see Compound data cuts below.

When you're finished creating the data cut, enter a description in the Name field, and click Create to save it. You can choose which group the data cut should be placed in using the Place in Group dropdown menu. New data cuts will be placed in the User Data Cuts group by default.

Compound data cuts

Data cuts with multiple conditions are called compound data cuts. To add an additional condition to the data cut, click the Condition button in the left-hand pane. Select a field, and choose the settings for the new condition.

If a data cut has two or more conditions, an operator is needed to define how they relate to each other. The "AND" operator is used by default. Notice in the screenshot below that the two conditions beneath the "AND" operator are indented. This indicates that both condition 1 and condition 2 must be true for a survey record to appear in the data cut.

To change operators, click on the operator, then select a different operator in the right-hand pane as shown in the screenshot above.

Nested operators

Operators may also be "nested" within other operators to create more complex data cuts. In the example below, the Q1 condition must be true, and then either the Q5 or the Q2 condition must also be true.

When setting up nested operators, create the conditions before adding additional operators. Then, click one of the conditions that you want inside the nested operator. Finally, click the And or Or buttons to add a nested operator containing the selected condition. You can click and drag conditions to place them in different operators.

Data cuts with nested operators evaluate conditions in nested operators first. Take careful note of the hierarchy of the operators and where each condition is nested.

Editing an existing data cut

There are two ways to edit a data cut. The first is to click the Edit button, then follow the same steps as Creating a data cut described above. 

Data cuts can also be edited by double-clicking directly on either the Description or Expression fields in the main Data Cuts list. If the expression syntax is invalid, the expression will revert to what it was previously.

Combining data cuts

Combine data cuts to create a broader data cut that includes respondents that would qualify for any of the original data cuts. In logic terms, each data cut expression is connected with an "OR" operator.

To combine data cuts, click the checkbox next to each data cut. Then, select Combine in the toolbar at the top of the screen.

Intersecting data cuts

Intersect data cuts to create a narrower data cut that includes only respondents that would qualify for all of the original data cuts. In logic terms, each data cut expression is connected with an "AND" operator.

To intersect data cuts, click the checkbox next to each data cut. Then, select  Intersect in the toolbar at the top of the screen.