[DDI-users] Questions related to QuestionGrid

Thu Nov 20 11:46:55 EST 2014

Wendy

Thank you for the quick answer.

I have still a couple of comments and questions, see below.

Achim

From: ddi-users-bounces at icpsr.umich.edu [mailto:ddi-users-bounces at icpsr.umich.edu] On Behalf Of Wendy Thomas
Sent: Mittwoch, 19. November 2014 19:23
To: Data Documentation Initiative Users Group
Subject: Re: [DDI-users] Questions related to QuestionGrid

see below

On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 11:45 AM, Wackerow, Joachim <Joachim.Wackerow at gesis.org<mailto:Joachim.Wackerow at gesis.org>> wrote:
I looked at a use case of the ESS (European Social Survey) round 6 questionnaire. Now I have some questions and comments related to QuestionGrid.
With some of them I’m pushing probably the limits of the current approach in 3.2.
Any thoughts on the questions and comments would be appreciated.

1. Resulting variables
One use case is that each question (i.e. row) in a grid results in a variable. The variable can only reference the whole QuestionGrid, but not the individual question. This is not really satisfying.
Are there any other possibilities?

This is the reason for In/Out Parameters and generation instructions that support the distribution of looped questions or grid response arrays. The variable can reference a generation instruction and define the binding as well as the item in the array that it uses. See examples created at Dagstuhl training this year.
[JW] I’m not sure which examples you mean. The whole approach with In/Out Parameters for the purpose to make a relation from a variable to a piece of a question grid seems to be quite complicated. Please elaborate on this, also regarding the related (3) with question number.
(the source questionnaire is still in PAPI, other modes may use other numbers)

2. Reuse of single questions in a grid
A single question in a grid (or a subset of a grid) could be reused in another grid or as single question (this happens sometimes in new waves of the same survey). But questions in a grid are realized as CodeScheme/CategoryScheme.
A single code could be referenced to reuse the Code/Category as question in another context, but this seems to be awkward. Did I miss something?

Is the "question" a part of dimension CodeList or a response domain? each can be reused as needed. Note that any use of a CodeList can be limited to a level, range or object.
[JW] I think I meant the use case where real/complete questions are in the rows of the grid. An individual question could be used as a single question in another context.
Maybe this is then not a real grid but a collection of multiple question items (like in 3.1). What should then be used in 3.2 for this purpose?

3. Reuse of QuestionGrid
How can QuestionGrids be reused and a question number be assigned to each individual question (in a row)?

Once again, the same way any question is reused. The path of the data can be defined by In Out parameters, a Generation Instruction and a Variable defining the binding between the out parameter of the question construct and the in parameter of the instruction.

4. Alternative to QuestionGrid
In the use case (mentioned below), a QuestionGroup could be another option. Then the issues 1-3 from above can be solved. The semantics are a little different.
A workaround could be to use a QuestionGrid which refers by BasedOnObject to the QuestionGroup.

Question Groups are administrative objects and cannot be used as the content of a QuestionConstruct.
[JW] OK. How can then MultipleQuestionItem (3.1) be replaced beside with QuestionGrid

5. Dimensions in a grid
I looked at the example (slide 14, 15) in the EDDI13 presentation “To 3.2 or Not to 3.2? That is the Question” at http://www.eddi-conferences.eu/ocs/index.php/eddi/EDDI13/paper/view/117.
The slide can show only a XML fragment. Now I’m wondering how “Older than Patient” and “Younger than patient” are realized, when “Number still alive” would be rank 1 (is rank 2 not the appropriate solution?).

Related question: How can it be described when one dimension has a different type of response domain than the grid? A GridDimension can have only a CodeDomain.
[JW] Sorry, I made apparently two topics with (5). Do you have comments on this?
5. Misleading semantics regarding questions in a grid?
The individual questions in a grid are not realized as QuestionItem but as Code/Category. The semantics seem to be wrong. Why was the use of QuestionItem not possible? This would have solved the issues 1 and 2 from above.

The question is asked regarding a number of objects (defined in a CodeList/CategoryScheme or roster.

6. Mix of representational and structural information?
I’m not really clear about this. But my impression is that there is not a clear distinction between structural and representational information.
There seem to be multiple levels (in the use case below):

-        The atomic level of an item (in the grid), like a question or an answer category.

-        The compound object of question and answer categories.

-        The question sequence (in a grid) with the same answer categories.

-        Some representational/rendering information (for example the answer categories are not repeated but only mentioned at the top). This could be differently arranged in different modes.

There are those looking at 4 that say all grids could be defined as loops. We need to look at this further as the response of INSEE staff to this suggestion (who use grids extensively) was a definite shudder.
This is probably more an issue for DDI 4 and will need some further analysis.

Reference:
ESS round 6 questionnaire
Page 5, starting with “CARD 5 Using this card, please tell me on a score of 0-10 how much you” in the document at:
http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/docs/round6/fieldwork/source/ESS6_source_main_questionnaire.pdf.

Achim

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Wendy L. Thomas                              Phone: +1 612.624.4389
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