Variable Names and Numbering in Tables

Variable Names

Separate variables are created and output for each Data Element for each category. The Category Suffix (&C) is appended to the Data Element variable name to produce a unique variable name for each category.

Question Numbering

Similar to variable names, the Category Suffix (&C) is appended to the question number to produce a number for each category.

Question Example

In a Data Element, the question “Have you bought any &TXT in the past 6 months, that is since &[SIXMO]?” could include a variable name BUY6&C. The question number is determined by the Section Header Prefix (T) the automatically generated question number, plus &C; for example T1&C.

Example of a Data Element for use in a Table Element

The categories are defined on the Table Element tab; for example, A: Toys, B: Books, and C: Clothing.

Table Element categories

The resulting variable names, labels, and numbering for this Data and Table Element would be:

Variable Name Variable Label Question Number
BUY6A Bought Toys in past 6 months T1A
BUY6B Bought Books in past 6 months T1B
BUY6C Bought Clothing in past 6 months T1C