Manually Create Descriptors
There are several techniques you can use to create descriptors:
- Manually create descriptor fields
- Manually create descriptor profiles for your media
- Manually link descriptor profiles to your media files
If you want to understand how descriptors can be useful to your project or review terminology, please reference the "Descriptors Overview" guide.
Creating Descriptor Fields
Descriptor fields can be manually added by:
1. Select the relevant descriptor set (Dedoose comes preloaded with a Default set that can be used). If you want to create a new Descriptor Set or edit the default set, please reference the Descriptor Set guide.
2. Click the addition icon in the upper right corner of the ‘Set Fields’ panel. This opens the Add Field window
3. Title the field (e.g., gender, age, stage, time, etc.) and add a description if needed
4. Choose the Field Type by clicking on the small arrow next to Option list. This opens a drop-down menu from where you can choose the type of field (Text, Number, Date/Time, Option List)
5. If you choose Option List, add options via the "Field Options" panel below. For example, if you had a Field for gender, your options could be Woman/Man/Nonbinary.
Using "Option List" as the filed type adds the most flexibility and control when you visualize your data via the Analyze tab. If you have continuous variables you want to visualize such as age, consider breaking up the variable into categories and utilizing the options list (e.g., 16-20; 21-25; 26-30).
Creating Descriptor Profiles Manually
You can think of a Descriptor Profile as a collection of descriptor data that describes a particular piece of media in your study. For example, if you had an interview with a participant and wanted to attach descriptor data for demographics and other variables associated with that interview, you can do so by creating a Descriptor Profile for that piece of media.
You can manually create Descriptor Profiles in two ways:
Option 1: Manually Create and then Link
Option 2: Link descriptors to media
Option 1: Manually Create a Descriptor Profile and then Link
1. Navigate to the Descriptor Workspace
2. Select the addition icon in the upper right corner to "Add New Descriptor"
3. A pop-up window will appear prompting you to assign the designated descriptor data for that descriptor profile
4. Select "Submit." Your new descriptor profile and the associated data will now be listed in the Descriptors in Set panel
Linking Descriptors & Descriptor Profiles to Media
To link an existing Descriptor Profile to a piece of Media:
Technique 1: Within the Descriptors Workspace
1. Select the "0" under the "Linked Media" column for a specific descriptor profile
2. A window will appear presenting all current media files in your project. Choose the correct one and select the "Link" button
Technique 2: Within the Media Workspace
1. Navigate to the Media workspace
2. In the row of the piece of media you want to attach a descriptor profile to, select the "0" in the Descriptors column
3. A window will appear presenting all current descriptor profiles in your project. Choose the correct descriptor profile by hitting the "Link" button
Option 2: Link Descriptor to media
If you have not created descriptor profiles, linking media to descriptors will automatically create descriptors profiles:
1. Navigate the Media workspace
2. In the row of the piece of media you want to link to descriptors, select the "0" in the Descriptors column
3. Select "Create and Link Descriptor" on the bottom right corner of the window
4. This will open a window showing previously created descriptor fields and their options in dropdown boxes. Select what corresponds to each media from the dropdown boxes. When finished, hit submit. That media should now be linked to its corresponding descriptors (its profile). You will need to do the same for each other media.