This is another way of viewing the document IDs in the same screen as a variable column that is far off to the right – drag the column you want to work on to the left until you can see it in the same screen as the IDs. TIP: You can also move a variable column from one location in the data editor to another by dragging its header bar with the mouse. In the data editor version drag the bottom slider to the right in order to see more columns of variables and note how you lose the key respondent identifiers from view there may be occasions when you will need to hide the display of several user variables in order to work accurately on data in columns further to the right. Remove some ticks from this column in your project and then toggle back to the data editor screen to see the effect. In Figure 12.1.2 we have removed the ticks in the check boxes for several of the system variables and this has caused them to be removed from the display in Figure 12.1.3 so that we can concentrate on the variables of more immediate interest to us. Toggle back to the List of Variables window and look at the column headed “To be displayed”.
For document groups where each document represents a separate case (as in the survey section here) we can meaningfully add or edit the personal data details for such cases in the appropriate cells. Now each variable has its own column, and there is a row for every document in the project. In Figure 12.1.3, above, we have toggled to the Data Editor view of the same window. This button has the label “Variable view Ctrl+ O” in both displays but is only highlighted in the list of variables version. In the data editor version you can add values for each variable to the cases or respondents. In the list of variables version you can create new variables and adjust the parameters that define them. This toggles between two displays, the list of variables and the data editor. Now look at the toolbar in this window and in particular the 5 th icon from the left. Each variable has its own row in this window and the columns are used to define various parameters for them.įigure 12.1.2 – List of Document Variables window Any variables created by the user (and that includes those imported as part of the survey data) have a blue box. Note in Figure 12.1.2 that some variables have been created by the program, these have a red box in the first column of the table. Here some user-defined variables have been added already (if you have imported the survey data element of this case study into your project you should also have something similar to these variables). This opens a window that is illustrated in Figure 12.1.2 below. Use the menu option “Variables > List of document variables” to open the routine.
#Maxqda 11 manual
This exercise will work through the manual procedure so that you can become familiar with how these variables work before practising a more ambitious import routine in the next exercise.įigure 12.1.1 – Variables menu Using the document variables windows You can create new variables and add values for each case manually within MAXQDA11, or you can import several variables and the values for multiple cases in a special routine if you have this data arranged in a spreadsheet file. You can then use these variables in subsequent interrogations of your data to separate and compare the data for subgroups of your sample that share values for selected characteristics.Ĭode variables will be discussed in a separate exercise (Ch12 Ex3), they are useful when you have multiple cases in a document (such as a focus group transcript) and you have used structural codes to identify the contributions made by different speakers for whom you also want to record factual characteristics. You should use document variables where a case is represented in your project data by a whole document, such as an interview transcript, so that you can record facts about each respondent such as their gender or age through an appropriate variable.
#Maxqda 11 code
There are two types of variable available, document variables and code variables. These are accessed from the top bar of menu options or through 4 icons on the standard toolbar (the toolbar icons are displayed in the menu, as can be seen in Figure 12.1.1 below). In MAXQDA11 the term used for the factual characteristics of cases or respondents is “Variables”.