Variable definitions

A single response variable is a categorical variable whose MaxValue property is set to 1. MaxValue records the maximum number of categories that a respondent can choose when answering the question.

This generally becomes a multiple response variable with an associated text helper variable for any open-ended responses. However, if there are no responses defined (excluding any Don't Know, No Answer, or Refusal responses) it becomes a text variable.

This response type is used in Quancept CATI interviews. The response list is stored in a database. This response type is typically used for very large product lists, such as models of cars or printers. The response is in the form of a numeric value that identifies a response in the database. QDI/DRS DSC stores the response in a numeric variable.

The names of the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model variables are based on the names of the variable defined in the .qdi file. Variables that are part of a Quancept loop become part of an MDM Array object. Note that QDI/DRS DSC cannot read .qdi files that contain any loops that have more than one level of nesting.

QDI/DRS DSC sets up routing items and short names, so that when the metadata is saved as an .mdd file, it can be loaded into UNICOM Intelligence Interviewer - Paper. (You can save the metadata as an .mdd file using Metadata Model Explorer.)

Typically, .qdi files do not contain translations because translations are handled in Quancept using special .ptf translation files. However, sometimes a .qdi file may contain translations, although the .qdi file does not have a mechanism for identifying texts in different languages or which language is being used. Therefore QDI/DRS DSC interprets all of the texts as if they are in one language, which it arbitrarily defines as English (United States).

The Metadata Model (MDM) assigns a numeric value (called the MDM mapped value) to each unique category name in the MDM document. This Value is independent of the value stored in the raw data. QDI/DRS DSC also stores a numeric value for each response in the MDM document. This value is called the native value and it identifies the response in the raw data.

For most responses the native value stores the actual value stored in the .drs file. However, this is not possible for the special Don't know, Refusal, and No answer responses because the native value stored in the MDM document must always be numeric and the value stored in the .drs file for these responses is not numeric. QDI/DRS DSC therefore uses a special numeric value as the native value for these special responses. This value is the negative value of the ASCII value that represents the character used to represent the special response as shown in the following table. QDI/DRS DSC also stores the actual value stored in the raw data in the Value custom property in the DRS context.

QDI response type	DRS raw value	Description	MDMCategory flag	Native value
DK	&	Don't know	Dontknow	-38
REF	-	Refusal	Refuse	-45
NULL	{	No answer	Noanswer	-123

With the exception of the standard .drs variables that become system variables, QDI/DRS DSC ignores any variables that appear in the .drs file but which are not defined in .qdi file.

Note When QDI/DRS DSC reads data, it does not change the data in the .qdi and .drs files. This means that when data is lost, it is lost only from the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model representation of the data and not lost from the .qdi and .drs files themselves.