Working with Data Sources

The Data Sources pane is where you import and navigate Data Set(s) and aggregated tables. There's a lot of functionality in this section:

1. The magnifying glass at the top of the pane is used to search for variables across all data sources. Use the Show Names feature to view each variable's unique underlying name alongside its label, making it easier to Find Variables in Displayr.

2. The plus icon is what you click on to add a data source, which can be aggregated tables that are already calculated or data sets containing variables with raw data. See Get Your Data Into Displayr.

3. Hovering over a variable set gives you a preview of Type (Structure name), unique variable Name, Data Set name, Values, and their Labels. Displayr has 13 variable set structures, and a different icon is used to represent each structure in Data Sources.

4. When you right-click on the data set name, you can tidy and clean your data using the Data Preparation Agent.

5. When you right-click on a variable set, you can save and apply templates, view in data editor, duplicate, move, delete, reset, split or combine, hide or unhide, sort, copy or paste labels, and view the Dependency Graph.

6. When you click the + next to a Variable Set, you get the variable set inserter, which lists different data manipulation automations that create new variables and items in your data set. A search bar and recommendations for data insertion features appear at the top based on what you have selected. Additionally, you'll be able to see Recent features used, create a folder, apply a template, create a banner, calculate across variables, combine categories, convert to a different structure, use custom code to create a new variable, check data quality, create a filter, perform numeric transformation, perform text categorization and text manipulation, and create a weight.

Tidy and clean your data using the Data Preparation Agent

You can run the Data Preparation Agent from Data Sources by right-clicking on the Data Set name. This feature automatically tidies and cleans your data. It can be used on its own or within the Research Agent.

Save and Apply Template

You can save and apply a Variable Set template to modify variables based on another similar variable. This will update properties such as variable Structure, combined categories and NETs, order, value labels, etc. 

View in Data Editor

This feature allows you to modify the dataset in Displayr without altering the raw data file imported. See How to View or Edit Raw Data in Displayr. 

Duplicate

Duplicating and modifying original variables is a great way to have two or more different versions of a question.

Move

Easily organize your variable sets in your Data Sources by selecting your variables, right-clicking, and then selecting Move (filters to top, weights to top, hidden questions to bottom, up one row, down one row, to top, or to bottom) of Data Sources. 

Delete

Delete variables you created, such as filters, weights, duplicated variables, banners, and custom R and JavaScript variables. This will not remove original variables from your Data Set. See How to Delete Variables From Your Data Set. 

Reset

Reset modified variables to their original structure. 

Split or Combine

You may want to modify how the variables are grouped into sets. The Split command will split any selected variables into individual variables outside the set. The Combine command groups together variables.

Hide or Unhide

You can hide and unhide variable(s), unhide all questions, hide/unhide variable sets with many categories, or hide uninteresting data.

Sort

Sort alphabetically by label, alphabetically by name, or by categories in variables in descending order (based on summary data).

Copy and Paste Labels

If you need to update a lot of labels at once in Displayr or pull variable labels out of Displayr to use elsewhere, using the copy and paste variable labels feature can help you do just that.

Dependency Graph

Looking at a Dependency Graph for a variable will tell you which objects in a document depend on it. 

Folder

Create a Folder to organize and group variable sets together.

Banner

Create a Banner that shows results broken down by several key pieces of information simultaneously. 

Calculate Across Variables

Create custom variables using various mathematical calculations (e.g., Average, Count, Divide, Sum, None of).  

Combine Categories

Create new variables by Geography (automatically merging smaller geographic regions into larger ones), by Pattern (based on how similar they are in distribution when compared to another variable), and by Combining Categories in NETs (creating a new variable with combined categories as the value to use as an adjustment variable in your weight).

Convert To

Convert To contains common ways of creating new variables. For example, the recording below shows the creation of a Top 2 Box, Top 3 Box, Top K Box, Bottom 2 Box, Bottom 3 Box, Bottom K Box, Split Grids by Rows or Columns, etc.)

Custom Code

Custom Code, which involves creating new variables using AI, JavaScript, R, and QScript. 

Data Quality

Create new variables to identify duplicate cases, impute missing data, identify inconsistent data, identify poor quality text, rebase multiple response data in variable(s) to NET, and remove outliers.

Filter

Create a filter to show results for a subgroup of interest.

Numeric Transformations

Numeric Transformation includes creating category midpoints, log transform, NPS, scale, sentiment scores, and square root variables.

Text Categorization

Use Displayr AI to create new variable(s) by classifying text data.

Text Manipulations

Use Displayr's AI translation features to create a new version of a selected text variable, translated into a different language.  

Weight

Creating a weight variable in your Data Set. Weighting is a technique for adjusting survey results.