Exporting data to SPSS *.sav (format) (AskiaTools)

Use this feature to export data from a *.QES file or SQL database in the SPSS .sav format, version 10.

Note: AskiaTools automatically includes the data map in the .sav file. However, while later versions of SPSS .sav format have removed limits that existed on caption sizes, AskiaTools abides by the old limits when exporting to .sav, for the sake of backwards compatibility. This means that your question ShortCuts and LongCaptions will be trimmed to 8 and 60 characters respectively, if they exceed these limits. From version 5.3.1.0, however, long captions are no longer limited in this way.

We therefore recommend that you amend your captions accordingly, so that the variable names and their descriptions remain understandable to the third party that needs to manipulate the data in .sav format. To achieve this, you can either modify the captions in askiadesign before exporting, or simply export the questionnaire's captions using askiadesign's export to rtf feature, and provide the third party with the .rtf file along with the .sav file.
Note: For multi-coded questions, if "ordered responses" are selected in AskiaDesign, then AskiaTools will create one variable for each response order (one for the first responses, one for the second, etc.). If "ordered responses" have not been selected in AskiaDesign, then AskiaTools will create one variable for each response (in binary: one for the first responses, one for the second, etc.).

To export data in SPSS sav format:

  1. In the file menu, select export, then SPSS *.sav.... The SPSS sav export dialog appears:
  2. In SAV file, specify the target file (i.e. name the file that you want to create, and specify where it is to be saved).
  3. Set the other options, as described below.
  4. Click OK to proceed.

  5.  If you opted to export a selection of questions (rather than all questions), you are now presented with a list of the questions in your QES:

  6. Copy the questions you want to export to the right-hand list, by using the following buttons:
    move_right Copies the selected question to the right-hand list;
    move_all_right Copies all questions to the right-hand list;
    move_left Removes the selected question from the right-hand list;
    move_all_left Removes all questions from the right-hand list.

  7. Once you are satisfied with the questions you have in the right-hand list, click OK. Your data is exported to .sav format.

SPSS SAV export options

Option Description

SAV file

Type the path and filename of the output file (where the data will be stored), or click ... and specify the path and filename in the file dialog.

Prefix loop question with loop items

If selected, loop item text will be exported at the beginning of the appropriate long caption (as opposed to at the end). This is to overcome the limitation in SAV of 255 characters for long captions, where loop item texts could be truncated away if placed at the end.

Keep '_' in shortcuts

If selected, underscored characters in shortcuts will be retained in the exported file; if not selected, they will be removed. This option is useful with continuous surveys, to maintain the consistency of shortcuts. By default, this option is not selected.
Prevent shortcuts reindexing

During the export, AskiaTools creates new questions for questions in loops, or semi-open questions. Select this option if you dislike the shortcuts created for these generated questions.

By default (when this option is not selected), the shortcuts of these generated questions consist of the shortcut of the source question, followed by a unique index. However, sometimes (for example, if your shortcuts are sequential numbers - e.g. Q1, Q2, Q3), this can lead to confusing generated question numbers, as it can push the numbering of subsequent questions out of step with your original question numbering scheme.

If you select this option, you can avoid this problem, as an alternative naming scheme is used to create the shortcuts:

  • _SO is added for semi-open questions;
  • the entry code is added for questions in a loop.

In both cases, shortcuts are always unique, and limited to 64 characters in SAV format.

Export questions: All/A Selection of Questions

Select all to export every question in the project. Select a selection of questions to export specific questions (you will be able to specify these questions later in the export process).

Use response entry codes

Select this option to export response entry codes instead of response numbers.

Code DK as

Specifies how DK answers will be exported:

  • as normal response codes (e.g. 3 if don't know is the third response);
  • zero values (e.g. 1, 2, 0);
  • not asked.

Multiple separator

Determine what character/s will be used in the variable names for exported multi-coded variables. The default is an underscore (_), which would generate question names in the following format: Q_1, Q_2, Q_3. The underscore will be replaced by any character/s you specify here.

Default size

With the new version of the SPSS spssio32.dll, open-ended questions create very large files. To deal with this, it is now possible to specify a default open-ended size (if you specify 0, the size will be assumed to be the maximum allowed by SPSS).

Note that in askiadesign, you can specify for the maximum size for each open-ended question; we recommend you specify 1024.

Export completes only

Select this option if you want to export completed interviews only.

Interview started after

Allows you to export interviews that were begun after the specified date. You can, therefore, use this feature to export new data that has been collected since a previous export.

Additional filter

Allows you to specify a custom data filter by specifying an askiascript condition. Click ... to open a secondary dialog where you can define your condition.
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