Suppressing percentages and statistics with small bases
Quick reference
To suppress percentages or statistics in a cell if the base is less than a value of your choice, place the option:
smbase=number
on the a, sectbeg, flt or tab statement.
To suppresses cells in rows or columns that have a small base, use:
smbaseall
More information
The smsup group of options suppress all the figures in a cell if the specified values (absolutes or percentages) are below a given value. The smbase= option suppresses just percentages in a cell without also suppressing the absolutes, if the base for the percentage is less than a figure of your choice. You can use it on the a, sectbeg, flt or tab statement; its setting at a higher level carries through to all lower levels, unless specifically overridden at a lower level, as is the case with most a-statement options.
Suppressing small values in table cells
smbaseall suppresses cells in rows or columns that have a small base. It suppresses absolutes and percentages in a cell if the column base for the cell is less than the value that is specified by the smbase parameter.
The following specification and tables show how to use this feature.
C The first pair have absolutes and col %s. They show that the absolutes as
C well as col %s are suppressed with smbaseall, except for the base value.
C
C The second pair have only col %s. They show that in this scenario, the
C table with smbaseall is the same as the one without.
C
C The third pair only have absolutes. Without smbaseall, tables with only
C absolutes are not subject to smbase= treatment so the means with small
C sum-of-n's are not suppressed. With smbaseall, all tables with smbase=
C are subject to this treatment so the means with small sum-of-n's are
C suppressed.
C
a;pagwid=78;side=10;linesbef=0;linesaft=0;smbase=30;notype
flt;op=12
tab opin region
ttlWithout smbaseall, op=12
tab opin region;smbaseall
ttlWith smbaseall, op=12
flt;op=2
tab opin region
ttlWithout smbaseall, op=2
tab opin region;smbaseall
ttlWith smbaseall, op=2
flt;
tab opin region
ttlWithout smbaseall, no op=
tab opin region;smbaseall
ttlWith smbaseall, no op=
l region
col 1;Base;North;South;East;West
l opin
col 2;Base;Great;%fac=4-1;Good;Average;Poor
n12Mean
The tables that this specification produces are as follows.
Page 1
Without smbaseall, op=12
Base North South East West
Base 118 28** 36 32 22**
Great 32 8 11 4 9
27.1% 30.6% 12.5%
Good 27 7 6 10 4
22.9% 16.7% 31.3%
Average 29 5 8 11 5
24.6% 22.2% 34.4%
Poor 30 8 11 7 4
25.4% 30.6% 21.9%
Mean 2.5 ** 2.5 2.3 **
** marked bases are very small (under 30): percents suppressed |
Page 2
With smbaseall, op=12
Base North South East West
Base 118 28** 36 32 22**
Great 32 11 4
27.1% 30.6% 12.5%
Good 27 6 10
22.9% 16.7% 31.3%
Average 29 8 11
24.6% 22.2% 34.4%
Poor 30 11 7
25.4% 30.6% 21.9%
Mean 2.5 ** 2.5 2.3 **
** marked bases are very small (under 30): values suppressed |
Page 3
Without smbaseall, op=2
Base North South East West
Base 118 28** 36 32 22**
Great 27.1% 30.6% 12.5%
Good 22.9% 16.7% 31.3%
Average 24.6% 22.2% 34.4%
Poor 25.4% 30.6% 21.9%
Mean 2.5 ** 2.5 2.3 **
** marked bases are very small (under 30): percents suppressed |
Page 4
With smbaseall, op=2
Base North South East West
Base 118 28** 36 32 22**
Great 27.1% 30.6% 12.5%
Good 22.9% 16.7% 31.3%
Average 24.6% 22.2% 34.4%
Poor 25.4% 30.6% 21.9%
Mean 2.5 ** 2.5 2.3 **
** marked bases are very small (under 30): values suppressed |
Page 5
Without smbaseall, no op=
Base North South East West
Base 118 28 36 32 22
Great 32 8 11 4 9
Good 27 7 6 10 4
Average 29 5 8 11 5
Poor 30 8 11 7 4
Mean 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.8 |
Page 6
With smbaseall, no op=
Base North South East West
Base 118 28** 36 32 22**
Great 32 11 4
Good 27 6 10
Average 29 8 11
Poor 30 11 7
Mean 2.5 ** 2.5 2.3 **
** marked bases are very small (under 30): values suppressed |
See
See also