The data file which qtsas creates is not directly related to the original Quantum data file. In that file, the answers to any one question are always found in the same location in each record (for example, always coded in column 15 of card 1). In addition, the codes in the data correspond to the codes on the questionnaire.

The records in an SAS data set are lists of values separated by spaces. A record always contains one value for every variable in the data section, in the order the variables are given in that list. However, because some values may contain more digits than others, the values for a given variable will not always appear in exactly the same place in the record. Here is a sample data set (it doesn’t matter what the data refers to, it is the layout that’s important):

The values which an SAS variable has are assigned by qtsas according to the position of the corresponding element in the Quantum axis. Thus, the first element is assigned value 1, while the fifth element is assigned value 5, even if these are not the codes in the original data file. In the second line of the example above, the respondent gave the 6th answer to the first SAS variable, the 4th answer to the second SAS variable, and so on. Further information on the values you can expect to see is given below.