better visualization options for multi-select

[mitchellsundt]

Migrated to getodk/aggregate#22 by spacetelescope/github-issues-import

Originally reported on Google Code with ID 409

"we did some tests with forms with multi select fields and are now
wondering about how the stored information should be used, e.g. with
the "Visualize Tools" of ODK Aggregate 1.0.
The problem is that values being selected in a multi select are stored
as combined individual values and thus don't count for the single
values.

Example Code:
<label>Defoliation</label>
             <select ref="/SoilQualitySurvey/Defoliation">
               <label>Select</label>
                <item>
                   <label>Widespread</label>
                   <value>Widespread</value>
               </item>
               <item>
                   <label>None</label>
                   <value>None</value>
               </item>
           </select>


When we select "Widespread" and "None", the diagrams and Spreadsheets
process the data as "Widespread None" and not "Widespread" and "None".
(I would like to attach a Screenshot to make this situation/problem
clearer... I hope you understand what I want to say.)

Or do we make use of the multi-select in a wrong way?"
-- LETSGO CeLeKT



"This is a tricky data representation question.  We punted it in 0.9.x and 1.0 because
a standard solution won't make sense in all situations.

If you have a multi-select with 30 choices, would you want a spreadsheet to be generated
with 30 column headings for this one multi-select, and a "X" under the columns with
matching values?  What if there are 50 choices?   What if the number of choices is
unlimited (this is possible with itemsets drawing their choices from an external database)?
At some point, it makes more sense to produce a spreadsheet with just "N" columns for
a given multi-select (1st choice, 2nd choice, ...), and show up to N choices for that
multiselect (but which N do you show?).

This would all need additional layers of configuration over the simpler version available
in 0.9.x and 1.0.

If you have your data in a MySQL or PostgreSQL database, you may want to look at Tableau
or another data visualization package that can directly work off the native database
tables holding your data."
-- Mitch

Reported by yanokwa on 2011-11-04 04:44:07

[mitchellsundt]

Migrated to opendatakit/aggregate#22 (comment) by spacetelescope/github-issues-import

I attached a screenshot of a ODK Aggregate 1.0 Pie Chart.
In our specific use case the presentation of the multi-select data makes no sense,
because multi-selected values count as own individual entries.

Hope that helps.

Reported by letsgo.space on 2011-11-04 08:05:15

---

- _Attachment: pie_multi_select.png
_

[mitchellsundt]

Migrated to opendatakit/aggregate#22 (comment) by spacetelescope/github-issues-import

Reported by wbrunette on 2011-11-04 16:10:12

[mitchellsundt]

Migrated to opendatakit/aggregate#22 (comment) by spacetelescope/github-issues-import

Reported by yanokwa on 2012-05-26 01:01:52