Dedoose is categorizing my qualitative data as Descriptor data
Dedoose is generally correct when distinguishing between data types, but occasionally can make a mistake if:
- Your qualitative data that have short responses
- Your qualitative data have similar responses across participants
In either case Dedoose may incorrectly categorize that qualitative data as descriptor data. To correct this:
1. Open your Excel file
2. Navigate to the columns that you would like to demarcate as qualitative data
3. Add "_ddqual_" to the front of the column title, without quotation marks and spaces
4. Save the file
5. Import it into Dedoose
You can review this information in depth in the Preparing Survey Data Guide.
Dedoose is categorizing my quantitative data (Descriptors) as qualitative data
Dedoose may misread quantitative data/descriptor data as qualitative data if:
- Your descriptor data have long phrases included that go over 30 characters
- Your descriptor data has a field in which participants chose multiple options from a multiple choice question
To correct these mistakes, replace any longer phrases with a shorter term or phrase. For example 'I was unsatisfied by this product because the taste was bitter' can be shortened too ‘Unsatisfied_Bitter’.
If your participants were able to choose multiple options on a multiple choice question, it is often best to have columns that represent each column and then signal whether the participant chose that option with a simple "yes/no" option. A detailed guide on how to change your spreadsheet to this format is coming soon!
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