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crosslists tag

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Crosslists create a single list of all possible permutations from two or more lists using the crosslists tag.

set list: GENDER
1. Male
2. Female
3. Non-binary

set list: AGE
1. 18 - 34 
2. 35 - 54 
3. 55 and above

set list: GEN_AGE
crosslists: GENDER, AGE

Tip! When creating a crosslist for a quota, use the cross by tag instead.

Details

  • To create a crosslist, use a set list widget with the crosslists tag and specify which lists will be used to define the new, combined list, separated by a comma. 
  • The crosslist must be defined after its component lists in the survey source.
  • The number of items that a crosslist will have can be determined by multiplying together the number of items in each list being crossed.
  • Crosslist option IDs are created by concatenating the original list IDs. The default separator for each concatenated option ID is an underscore, and a comma for each new option text. To override these defaults, use the crosslist id separator and crosslist text separator tags.
  • All conditions and option decorator data are also preserved, so they can be used by any questions or variables which reference the crosslist.
  • Crosslists inherit and combine desc decorators, which can help simplify labels for rows/columns.
  • Crosslists support the ability to include and exclude options from the lists being crossed, (e.g., crosslists: PURCH, AGE-[1,2]).
  • Crosslist quotas are displayed in a grid in the Quotas applet, where the first list is used for the rows and the remaining list(s) are used for the columns.
  • Add crosslist tile: n to display crosslists as standard quota rows, instead of a table format. 

Caution! Be cautious when creating large crosslists, as they can lead to complex and extremely large data structures.

Determining list order

Crosslists display combinations in a defined order. Each element from the first list is paired sequentially with all elements of the second list, listed in numerical order by the element IDs. This pattern continues until all elements of the first list have been paired with all elements of the other list(s).

For example, the code above produces the following list:

1_1. Male, 18 - 34
1_2. Male, 25 - 54
1_3. Male, 55 and above
2_1. Female, 18 - 34 
2_2. Female, 25 - 54
2_3. Female, 55 and above
3_1. Non-binary, 18 - 34
3_2. Non-binary, 35 - 54
3_3. Non-binary, 55 and above

Additional examples

Modifying the ID and text separators

The crosslist id separator tag alters how IDs in a crosslist are separated in the data. By default, the option ID from the GEN_AGE list used above is 1_1. However, applying crosslist id separator: would change the ID format to 11.

Similarly, the crosslist text separator tag alters how option (or desc decorator) texts are separated in the data. By default, the option text from the GEN_AGE list appears as 'Male, 18 - 34'. Using crosslist text separator: ~ would change the text format to 'Male~ 18 - 34'.

See the updated code below for the changes.

set list: GENDER
1. Male
2. Female
3. Non-binary

set list: AGE
1. 18 - 34 
2. 35 - 54 
3. 55 and above

set list: GEN_AGE
crosslists: GENDER, AGE
crosslist id separator:
crosslist text separator:~

Tip! Apply the HTML for "non-breaking space" ( ) to force a space between the first text and ~.

Referencing question IDs instead of lists

It is possible to build crosslists from questions rather than lists. This reference to a question is called question-label shorthand. It's an abbreviated way to write a conditional statement meaning "all options selected at QX."

In the example below, AGEGENLIST uses question-label shorthand to reference Q4 and Q5. Since both of these questions are single select questions, only one option will be selected from each. The crosslist will then produce only one viable combination of options from Q4 and Q5.

The use of a crosslist in a quota is explained in the next example.

set list: GEN
1. Male
2. Female
3. Non-binary

set list: AGERANGES
1. 18 - 34
2. 35 - 54 
3. 55 and above 

4. What is your gender?
type: radio
optsfrom: GEN

5. What is your age?
type: radio
optsfrom: AGERANGES

set list: AGEGENLIST
crosslists: Q4, Q5

AGEGEN. QUOTA | Age-Gender
type: quotas
optsfrom: AGEGENLIST

Creating a crosslist quota

Here's a crosslist quota using the crosslists tag. This method creates an independent list before applying it to the quota. It's useful if you need to reuse the list in multiple places, including respondent-facing questions, or if you need to leverage the crosslist id separator and crosslist text separator tags.

set list: GENDER
1. Male
2. Female
3. Non-binary

set list: AGE
1. 18 - 34 
2. 35 - 54 
3. 55 and above

set list: GEN_AGE
crosslists: GENDER, AGE
crosslist text separator: -
crosslist id separator:

GENXAGE. Gender x Age Quota
type: quotas
optsfrom: GEN_AGE

Understanding crosslists and conditions

Conditions are defined using curly braces to enclose an "if statement" (e.g., {if ($Q3 >= 18 and $Q3 <= 24)}). These conditions are carried forward and applied to each crosslist option. A common use case is nested demographic quotas, such as crossing age ranges and gender.

In the example below, the crosslist GENAGELIST is created by crossing the lists QP1 and AGELIST.

  • QP1 is question-label shorthand, discussed in the previous example. QP1 is a single select question, and only one option will be present for each respondent.
  • The options in AGELIST each have a condition referencing QP2. Ultimately, only one option's condition will be true, meaning only one option will be applicable for each respondent.

The optsfrom: GENAGELIST tag does not require any locally defined conditions because the list options inherit conditions from both QP1 and AGELIST. Since QGENAGE is a type: quotas variable, it will automatically "punch" the applicable option for each respondent based on the inherited conditions.

set list: GENLIST
1. Male
2. Female
3. Other gender identity

P1. What is your gender?
type: radio
optsfrom: GENLIST

P2. What is your age?
type: text
datatype: whole
range: 1-99
termif: ($QP2 < 18) {text: QP2 (Age: 17 or younger) }

set list: AGELIST
18. 18 - 24 {if ($QP2 >= 18 and $QP2 <= 24)}
25. 25 - 34 {if ($QP2 >= 25 and $QP2 <= 34)}
35. 35 - 44 {if ($QP2 >= 35 and $QP2 <= 44)}
45. 45 - 54 {if ($QP2 >= 45 and $QP2 <= 54)}
55. 55 - 64 {if ($QP2 >= 55 and $QP2 <= 64)}
65. 65+ {if $QP2 >= 65}

set list: GENAGELIST
crosslists: QP1,AGELIST

GENAGE. QUOTA |Gen-Age
type: quotas
optsfrom: GENAGELIST

Using decorator data

Additional data stored in lists with option data decorators can also be pulled into crosslists just like conditions. In the following example, a crosslist created from two lists with custom option data is referenced and displayed to the respondent.

Please scroll to see the full source code.

Referencing crosslist IDs in conditional logic

To reference a crosslist parent ID in a list call (e.g., optsfrom), prefix the origin list name to the id placeholder, separated by an underscore (e.g., '[LISTNAME_id]'). Prefixing clarifies list references and is necessary for the software to iterate across different lists.

In the example below, crosslist BRANDS_X_FAM uses the lists BRANDS and FAMILIAR to create its combined list.

set list: BRANDS
1. Bounty
2. Brawny
3. Scott
4. Seventh Generation

set list: FAMILIAR
1. Not at all familiar
2. Slightly familiar
3. Very familiar
4. Extremely familiar

set list: BRANDS_X_FAM
crosslists: BRANDS,FAMILIAR
To reference the crosslist in conditional logic, such as on an optsfrom tag, use 'BRANDS_id' and 'FAMILIAR_id' as placeholders. Enclose these references in square brackets, just like the standard [id] placeholder. 
optsfrom: BRANDS_X_FAM {if anyChecked($Q1R[BRANDS_id],[FAMILIAR_id])}

Here:

  • 'BRANDS_id' iterates through each ID from the BRANDS list, creating the row reference.
  • 'FAMILIAR_id' iterates through each ID from the FAMILIAR list, becoming the answer option.

 

When using question-label shorthand, reference variable names instead of list names.

In the example below, crosslist BRANDS_PRODUCTS uses variables QL1BRANDS and QL1PRODUCTS to create its combined list. 

set list: BRANDS_PRODUCTS
crosslists: QL1BRANDS,QL1PRODUCTS

Then, we could write the following:

rowsfrom: BRANDS_PRODUCTS {if anyChecked($QS14R[QL1BRANDS_id],[QL1PRODUCTS_id])}

Here:

  • 'QL1BRANDS_id' pulls in any ID "punched" at QL1BRANDS, creating the row reference.
  • 'QL1PRODUCTS_id' pulls in the IDs punched at QL1PRODUCTS, becoming the answer option.

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