TopN in the spreadsheet view

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mTAB’s standard TopN function has only one limitation – when you run TopN reports you can only view data of the type specified in the Row Data Type in your TopN Report. Thus, if you have a tab with numerous questions and formats on it, running the TopN report will result in not all of these being shown.


Using the TopN in the Spreadsheet function can solve this. The method of doing this is to create a TopN question set in the Question Selection view, which then applies to your tab rather than just the data in the spreadsheet. Another advantage to this is that the TopN definition can then be saved as part of the tab.


TopN in the Spreadsheet is created at the same time as the rest of your tab.In the Question Selection view, you can access the TopN Question Set dialogue box in two ways:

1. Through the Create ribbon and selecting the Add TopN Question Set option OR

2. By right clicking in either the rows or columns section and selecting Add TopN Question Set.


Either way, this brings up the TopN Question Set dialogue box. The list of options contained in this dialogue box with three tabs: Main, Sorting, and Options.


Under the Options tab, the Optional Parameters panel has 3 elements to it. The Include Not Stated/No Answer check box will include all respondents from the study who gave no answer to the particular question(s) being run. The Calc Layer %s from Totals and Calc Layer %s from Layer Totals options are highly specific options used only when a layer question or study is in use.

TopN spreadsheet-view options.jpg

The Sorting tab includes a TopN Sorting section that gives two options to choose from: Questions and Responses. The Questions option can only be used if there is to be more than one question inserted into the question set, for example, when mean ratings are being run. The data is sorted either by question or by response within each question. In both cases, you should select the format that you wish to sort by from the question or response list.


The Sort Direction can be selected as either descending (default setting) or ascending. Additionally, users can decide how they want the data sorted through the Sort Responses By section.

TopN spreadsheet-view sorting.jpg

In the Main tab, the Threshold Value gives you the option of setting a specific value, which is then used to exclude data from the TopN report if it falls below this specified value. The default setting is Zero Threshold Value, which excludes any data values with a response value of 0. The alternative options to this are No Threshold Value and User Defined Threshold Value. No Threshold Value will apply no threshold value to the data and will always show all data up to the specified N value. User Defined Threshold Value gives you the option of setting the specified value by the arrows or by entering the value directly into the value field. This will then exclude any values that are less than or equal to the user defined value.


Also on the Main Panel is the Display Top N Responses where N = option. The default setting is 10, which can be altered either by directly typing a new figure in or through the arrows. Again, in order to show all responses, the figure 0 needs to be entered in this box.


Near the top of the Main Panel is the TopN Set Name text box, where you must enter a name for your question set in order for the process to be completed. When you have chosen all your options and have provided a name, click OK to generate the question set.

TopN spreadsheet-view main.jpg

To inform mTAB which questions you would like to appear within the question set, simply insert the appropriate questions into the newly created question set provided.

TopN spreadsheet-view create-brackets.jpg

You will need to drag the question(s) that you require onto the bottom (End) question set in order for the question(s) to be inserted.

TopN spreadsheet-view inbewtween-brackets.jpg

If you need to, you can modify the TopN question set. This is done from within the Question Selection view. In order to access the Edit menu, first you must select the top (Begin) bracket. The Edit function will then become available in two ways:

1. Through the Create ribbon, Edit TopN Question Set menu option OR

2. Via right click and select Edit TopN Question Set.


This will bring up the TopN Question Set dialogue box containing the current settings, which can then be altered as required. Once you have completed any changes, simply click OK to return to the question selection view.


If you wish to include any additional question(s) in the TopN question set, then simply drag the relevant question(s) into the TopN brackets. With the TopN in Spreadsheet option in use, an example of the resulting output is displayed below.

TopN TopN-in-the-spreadsheet-view spreadsheet-top5.jpg