Tables

The tabulation program in DASH uses the same principles and methods employed for CATI, web and data entry forms. This consistency of design together with the automation of the major steps in creating both variables and tables mean that staff familiar with DASH forms can easily learn to run tables as well.

The DASH tables application was developed for the demanding requirements of market research studies, both ad hoc and tracking, and provides a full range of functions for all table reporting requirements.

Tables are one component of the DASH Core Licence, which also includes data entry and CATI. Click here for Core Licence pricing.

Variables
Variable Creation
  • menu generation from form
  • automatic variables available for edit
  • interchangeable use in table columns or rows
  • incorporation of user's formats and styles
  • any number of variables per form
Variable Components
  • title portion of table title
  • full text labels of any length
  • data specifications
  • statistics
  • filters
  • format and presentation controls
Data Specifications in Variables
  • any type of data, including text
  • any data comparisons (e.g. less than)
  • combinations with ANDs, ORs, brackets
  • single or multiple mentions
  • original, assigned, calculated data
  • data 'transformations', volumetrics
Data Breaks in Variables
  • individual values and/or
  • ranges of values and/or
  • lists of values and/or
  • cumulative values
  • nesting (e.g. age by gender)
  • concatenation (e.g. age then gender)
Table Components
Counts
  • may be 'turned off' on both table and row-by-row basis
  • reporting with integer or decimal numbers
  • user-defined number of decimal places with individual row controls
  • zero count rows included or suppressed
  • zero count cells with 0 or alternate character such as - (dash)
  • revised base count definition for applications such as volume
  • group count definitions for alternative base in part of table
Percentages
  • any combination of row, column, subsample, total percentages
  • each may be 'turned off' on both table and row-by-row basis
  • vertical and/or horizontal presentation relative to the count
  • reporting as integers or decimals
  • user-defined number of decimal places with individual row controls
  • optional percentage sign (%)
Weights
  • population or proportional weights
  • based on conditions of any complexity
  • automatic calculation of target weights ('rim weighting' 'raking')
  • any number of individual case weights stored in data file
  • optional changes of weighting scheme in table set
Statistics
  • mean, median, mode
  • minimum, maximum, range
  • standard deviation, standard error
  • t-tests, chi square
  • table-level cell significance test
  • significance test on specified column percents
  • significance test on specified column means
  • statistics-only tables an option
Filters
  • multiple filters at same time or in sequence
  • ... on full table set
  • ... on group of tables
  • ... on single table
  • ... on any single variable
  • ... on a single row or column
Custom Programs
  • option to execute any external procedure on contents of any table
  • execution of procedure during table run
  • procedure results (e.g. new statistic) optionally appended dynamically to table
  • rearrangement of table contents an option in procedure
Table Execution
Methods
  • initiated from menu or command line
  • optional filters by case range, case status, case data
  • execution on current data, historical data, or inverted data
  • executable during live entry operations
Table Presentation
  • single or multiple tables per page
  • grids for positioning tables, adding text descriptions
  • user-controlled page content formats and styles
  • presentation parameters customizable for each project
Index of Tables
  • automatic generation from tables file
  • link to each single tabulation and cross-tab
  • user-controlled formatting of index title and contents
Table Output
  • to display or file
  • HTML output for immediate web posting
  • viewable in any web browser