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Advanced open-end recoding

Updated at 2020-01-02 18:05:37 UTC
Protobi coding interface for element Q7_coded_copy displaying survey responses in the left column with assigned code tags (like #GOOD, #NOT EASY, #DOSE INDICATOR, #COST EFFECTIVE) in the middle column, and a code set panel on the right showing available codes including #COST EFFECTIVE, #DOSE INDICATOR, #EASY TO USE, and others.

Protobi has two features that make coding text open-ends easier, the Recode dialog and Recode (advanced).

The advanced recode feature is particularly helpful for coding open-ends with many responses. At the top of the page the project name and the element key are displayed. 

The main components of the page are:

  • Values/ tags: The values and their corresponding tags
  • Codes: Every tag that is added to the element will show up here
  • Search bar: Look up key words to limit the values that appear
  • Toolbar: Allows you to save, select values, add tags, etc...

Please note

This advanced recoding page is separate from the project view. Prior to launching Recode, make sure all changes are saved in the project view. 

After you're done recoding in Recode (advanced), press the "save" button seen on the Recode (advanced) page. When you return to the project view, reload the browser to see the changes you made in Recode (advanced).

How to access

To get to an element's Recode (advanced) page, press on the header of the element you want to recode. It will turn blue to indicate it's selected. Then, from the "Advanced" button on the toolbar choose "Recode (advanced)."

Dropdown menu showing advanced options including Hide/unhide (D), Group (G), Dissolve (U), Clone (simple) (E L), Change key (E K), Copy Element(s) (C J), Paste Element(s) (V J), Paste Special (V P), Google Translate (A T), Recode (advanced) (A R), and QC checks (beta) (Q C), with the Recode (advanced) option highlighted.

Values/tags

Under the search bar, values from the element appear on the left, and each tag that is assigned to the value is on the right.

  • Press on value(s) to select (yellow highlight)/ press again to deselect (white)
  • Press Esc on your keyboard as another way to deselect values
  • Press "+": brings up the add tag dialog 
    • You can choose an existing tag or create a new one. Press ok.
  • Press a tag: limits the view to only values that have the tag
    • Press the tag "none" to see all uncoded values
  • Press "x": removes tag from value
Protobi coding interface with the first response 'A bit confusing for the elderly' highlighted in yellow/gold, showing it is tagged with the #NOT EASY code. The Code set panel on the right displays all available codes, and the interface shows multiple other responses below with their respective code assignments.

Code set

The codes on the far right of the page is the entire code frame for the element. 

  • Press a tag: limits the view to only values that have the tag
  • Press "x": deletes ALL instances of the tag 
  • Drag a code: drag a code to a value as another way to tag it
  • Add a new code: Protobi suggests a numeric code, enter a label to identify the code 
  • Numerify codes: If your codes are strings instead of numeric, use this option to change all tags to number:label pairs
Protobi coding interface displaying responses with several #COST EFFECTIVE codes highlighted in orange, including on responses like 'Cost effective Refill easy to replace Dose counter' which has multiple codes including #DOSE INDICATOR and #COST EFFECTIVE (both in orange). The Code set panel shows #COST EFFECTIVE highlighted in orange at the top of the list.

Search bar

The search bar allows you to limit the view to values that mention a key word. Search "difficult," and only values that contain the word will appear in the view.

You can also do searches using Regular Expressions, which can be very simple to very expressive. See the RegEx cheat sheet.

You can also double click on a word and it will automatically be added to the search bar.

Protobi coding interface with 'difficult' entered in the Search box, filtering the responses to show only those containing that term. Six responses are visible, all highlighted in yellow/gold, including 'Difficult to load for the elderly' (#NOT EASY), 'Good because it reusable. Could still be difficult with people who have arthritic problems' (#ECO-FRIENDLY), and other responses mentioning 'difficult'.

Toolbar

Save (S)

Press or use keyboard shortcut S to save your work. After you're done recoding in Recode (advanced), press this button. When you return to the project view, reload the browser to see the changes you made in Recode (advanced).

Clear (Esc)

Press or use the Esc button on keyboard to clear your search.

Select all (e)

Press to select all values in the view pane. This lets you add tags to many values at once.

Below, all values that mention "difficult" are selected. Press Select all again to deselect all.

Protobi coding interface continuing the filtered view with 'difficult' in the Search box. The responses shown are all highlighted in yellow/gold and contain the search term. This view shows the same filtered set of responses about difficulty with the medical device, each with their assigned codes like #NOT EASY, #ECO-FRIENDLY, and #EASY TO USE.

Add code (t)

Press to add tag to selected values.

This button is an alternative to pressing the "+" sign next to values. Press it to bring up the add tag dialog. You can choose an existing tag or create a new one. Press ok. 

Modal dialog titled 'Add code to selected responses' displaying a list of existing codes with checkboxes (#COST EFFECTIVE, #DOSE INDICATOR, #EASY TO USE, #ECO-FRIENDLY, #GOOD, #NOT EASY, #OTHER, #SIMILAR) and a '(new)' option with '9' in a field and 'difficult' entered as the new code name. The dialog shows the filtered responses will receive this code and includes Cancel and Ok buttons.

Remove codes (del)

Press to remove codes from selected values.

Labels (f)

Press to toggle from formatted values to raw values.

Protobi coding interface displaying responses with numeric code badges instead of text labels. Responses show codes like '6', '5', '1', and combinations like '5 1', '2 1', and '6 1'. The right Code set panel shows numeric codes 1 through 8 with an 'Add new code...' link and 'Numerify codes...' option.

Download

Two blue buttons labeled 'CSV' and 'XLSX' positioned side by side in the Protobi toolbar, used for exporting coded response data in different file formats.

You can download the coded values in CSV (E C) or XLSX (E X) format. Below we see the downloaded Excel for an element (Q7_chinese). 

  • Column A: raw values
  • Column B: formatted values (values may not have formats)
  • Column C: the tags assigned to each value
Excel spreadsheet displaying exported coded response data with three columns: column A labeled 'value' contains the response text (like 'interesting, should be eas', 'Good. Positive', 'this product can help the u'), column B labeled 'fmt' shows code numbers (like '3|2', '6|1', '3|4|1'), and column C labeled 'Q7_coded_copy' contains numeric values (3, 5, 3, 4, 5, 7, etc.).

Upload

A blue square button with rounded corners displaying a white upload icon (document with upward arrow), used for importing data or files into the Protobi interface.

If you prefer to do your coding in Excel, you can do so and upload the CSV or file. 

In order for this to work, use the column names seen in the download file: value, fmt, (element key). If you do not have fmt (formatted) values, delete the column.