Adding Data Variables
One of the strengths of SimplyAnalytics is the huge breadth of data variables you can use for your research.
You may already have your seed variables selected from when you created the project. To add more, go to the Data tab.
Note: this section is using the Comparison Table function - see this page for help with the different kinds of reports and views in SimplyAnalytics.
Step One
Step Two
Type in what you are looking for. Spelling matters, you will not retrieve results if you misspell your keywords.
Step Three
View your results in the window that opens. Coffee is a very broad category, so we're seeing variables including how much consumers spend on coffee beans and coffee cakes, plus who is employed in a coffee shop. If you keep scrolling or refining the search, you can narrow down the number of variables listed, which is covered in the next step.
Step Four
Narrow down the variables by scrolling through the Category column or the variable column. You can also add other keywords to the filter box to reduce the number of results.
Step Five
Click on the variables you want to include.
Note that there is a subtle difference between percentages and numbers, and you may only want one or the other depending on your research project. If you are comparing 2 or more areas to each other, numbers can be misleading because higher population areas will always come out ahead. Percentages will show you concentrations of your variable relative to either national or local samples depending on how you set up your map or chart.
Selecting both # and % of each variable is recommended.
Hit X when you are done choosing variables
Step Six
Your variables should be added to your comparison table.
If your variables haven't been added or you want to edit the data in this table, click on View Actions, then Edit View.
Once you are done making your changes, hit Done.
Step Seven
You can also make your map show your new variables (however, you can only show one variable at a time).
Types of Data Variables
This is not an exhaustive list of what you can find, but rather discussing the main types of data we have in our license.
Data Folder View
The default view for data variables is Category, but you can click on Data Folder and see a list of all the sources for the data variables. Sometimes that is an easier way to understand what is available and find information.
You can see all the datasets we subscribe to here.
Data Included
Population and Demographic Variables
- Census data includes household characteristics like marital status, number of children, and employment information.
MRI Simmons Local Data
- Can show brands and usage by volume or frequency in your chosen geographic area.
- Useful to pair with the MRI Simmons database to understand the psychographic profile of the consumer (you will have to search separately, see this guide for how to use MRI Simmons).
Claritas Prizm Premier Segments
- Prizm household segments can be used as a shorthand to understand how consumers in an area live, work, and shop. Here are links to their explanations
View Metadata
If you want to know more about a variable, you can click on View Metadata to find our what dataset it came from.
