Query Data

The Query Panel menu enables you to gather counts on a subset of panelists who meet certain criteria. This criteria is defined using the drag-and-drop query tool. In addition to providing up-to-date counts on panelist subsets, the query tool also allows you to define universal business rules for sample pulls as well as to create filters that can be used within the panelist manager.

Note: The Query Panel menu allows you to pull back a subset of panelists but does not allow you to save this subset as a sample. To create list of panelists as a sample for sending invitations, use the Query for Sample option in Project Mode.

1:  Using Query Panel

1.1:  Section A - Actions

• Create new query: This button will take you to the query builder which will let you create and customize your new query.
• Manage activity filters: You will not see this icon if you don't have permission to create filters. Activity filters allow you to limit who the query selects based on their past activity. For example, to make sure you do not include someone who has already been invited to participate in three recent surveys, you can create a filter to select people who have been invited to more than two surveys in the past month, then create an "is not" condition to exclude people who match that filter condition.
• Match panelist from file: Launches the Match panelist from file feature.

1.2:  Section B - Folders

• Recent queries: Displays the last fifteen queries that were modified in the past week.
• Filters: Displays queries that are marked as filters. Filters that are created in other parts of the application, for example the panelist manager, will appear here.
• Panel business rule: Displays the query that is set as the business rule. This folder only applies, and appears, when in panel mode.
• Lucid Link qualifier: Displays the query that is set as the Lucid Link qualifier. This folder only applies, and appears, when in panel mode.
• Queries: Displays all panel/project queries in the respective folders.
• Shared queries: Displays all shared queries that were not created in the current panel/project.
• Invalid queries: Displays all queries that have been marked as invalid. An invalid query is one that may make use of a non-existing sub-query, activity filter, or region. Once the invalid condition is corrected and saved, the query will not be marked as invalid.
  

  Note: Sub-queries have been deprecated and all new conditions cannot be setup to use a sub-query. Any existing conditions using a sub-query will still execute as long as the query they point to exists and is valid. Existing sub-queries cannot be modified, only kept the same or removed.

• Folders actions: The following actions are available by right clicking the folders to bring up the folder modification menu. These actions only apply to the Queries folder and sub folders. Recent queries, Filters, Business rule, and Shared queries cannot be modified.
• Create sub folder: Creates a new folder within the folder.
• Rename: Allows renaming the folder.
• Delete: Deletes the folder.
• Move selected: Any queries that are selected in the list on the right side, will be moved into the selected folder.
• Move: Queries sub folders can be rearranged by dragging and dropping them to a different folder.

1.3:  Section C - Query List

Right clicking any row with a query will produce a context menu which contains the following options:

• Preview: Shows a breakdown of the selected query. Panelists who match the conditions are shown in green, and will be included if you save this query as a sample. Those shown in red do not match the conditions, and will not be included in a saved sample.
• Edit: This will take you to the query builder which will let you customize your query. Also, just clicking on a row will take you to the query builder.
• Copy: This will copy a query with all of its groups and conditions.
• Share: Sharing queries allows queries to be used between the panel and other projects. Shared queries cannot be edited, deleted, or saved as a business rule unless they originated from this panel. Shared queries can always be copied to the current panel and then edited or saved as a business rule.
  

  Note: Clicking the checkbox in the share column will toggle shared or not shared if the query originated from the current panel/project.

• Set as panel business rule (panel mode only): While querying in panel mode, you can select one query to act as a business rule that will be applied to ALL projects in this panel. For example, if you want to ensure that all panelists pulled are not blacklisted and have not received a survey invitation in the past two weeks, you can build that query here, and it will ensure that no invitations are accidentally sent to blacklisted panelists or sent to panelists too often.

Note: Although business rules are convenient, they can slow the project queries down. For large panels you may find it faster to skip the rules and just put the conditions in each of your queries. To quickly turn business rules off, simply press the "Business rules" button again. However, this will turn the rules off for all projects in this panel!

• Set as Lucid Link qualifier (panel mode only): While querying in panel mode, you can select one query to act as a Lucid Link Query that will find panelists to be sent to the Lucid router to attempt to complete an untargeted survey. The Lucid router, based on pre-screener questions, will route the panelist to an appropriate survey.
• Crosstabulation: Use this button to run crosstabs on the selected query, you will be redirected to the Crosstabs editor and your datapoints will be pre-selected for you (if possible).
• Save as sample (project mode only): This will run the selected query and produce a sample, which can then be used to invite panelists or to view stats on it.
• Reserve as sample (project mode only): Same as "Save as sample" except it will also reserve the sample for the next 24 hours, meaning all queries who are set to ignore panelists in reserved samples will do so.
• Delete: This will delete a query. If a query is used as a subquery, the condition using it will be removed from the query. Clicking the trash bin in the list will also delete the query.
• In project mode: If a box stating "Business rules are active" appears in the top bar, then it means that the panel manager has created a special query that will automatically be applied to any query you build. So if, for example, the business rules include a condition that all panelists pulled from the panel must not have been sent more that two invitations in the past month, then your sample will include only those panelists who meet this criteria, in addition to meeting the conditions you specify in your query.

2:  Editing Your Query

Click the button, "Create new query" to begin.

2.1:  Section A - Actions

• Guide me: This button will open the help file for this page.
• Query name: Click the query name to edit it. Give your query a meaningful name to make it easier to find it again.

Note: Every query must have a name.

• Preview: Use this button to quickly check query results.
• Save: Save the query as it currently is. It is not necessary to save a query in order for you to preview its result. Saving a query is also not necessary if you want to save its result as a sample (project mode only).
• Save query and clone: Save the current query, create an exact copy of it and make active for editing.
• Save as sample (project mode only): This will save the results of the query as a sample and make it available in the sample manager.
• Exit: This will exit the query builder. Any unsaved changes are lost!

2.2:  Section B - Panelist fields / Datapoints / System fields / Groups / Filters

This section contains all available data sources separated into the three categories categories outlined below.

Note: You will need to click and drag the fields from Section B to Section D.

• Panelist fields: Contains a list of all panelist properties and meta data.
• Datapoints: Contains a list of all datapoints.
• Filters: Contains special fields that use more advanced logic. Available only when regions or activity filters are set up.

2.3:  Section C - Query explained

This box contains a textual representation of the query that is being edited.

2.4:  Section D - Query building area

This area is used to visualize the condition arrangement. You can drag items from the left sidebar into this field and place them in the specific order you desire. A query must have at least one condition in order for you to use it.

• To edit a condition, click on the condition text itself and the Clause editor will display it.
• The trash can icon allows you to delete a condition or an entire group and all its conditions.
• The exclamation point icon allows you to negate a condition or an entire group.
• To add a subgroup, click the 'plus' icon. Subgroups are used to clarify unambiguously which conditions should be evaluated first in the given query. Groups must always contain at least one condition.
• To adjust a condition or a group operand, simply click it to change it from 'and' to 'or'.

2.5:  Section E - Properties

Located in the top right section, the fields in this box allow you to adjust the query properties.

• Make available as a filter: If you decide to make your query a filter, it becomes available in the panelist manager and data export.
• Share query among all projects and panel: Sharing queries allows queries to be used between the panel and other projects. Shared queries cannot be edited, deleted or saved as a business rule unless they originated from this panel.
• Obey Panelist contact frequency settings: When this is selected, the system will take the panelists contact frequency settings into consideration. Which means that a panelist will not be included in the query result, if he has already received enough invitations in his selected time span.
• Include panelists even if reserved: If this is selected, the system will exclude panelists from your query who are included in any reserved sample.
• Additional de-duplication by data point: This shows a list of all available data points that can be used for additional de-duplication. The entries in the list are open end data points. Use this feature to group panelists by their answer for that data point. If duplicates are found, the system will randomly select one record to include in the query. Panelists who don't have an answer stored for the selected data point are excluded.

2.6:  Section F - Clause editor

This area is used to compose query conditions. After adding a condition, this field will allow you to edit its properties. Any changes made to the conditions are applied automatically - however the query you are editing or creating is not modified until you click the save button in the top toolbar.

For text questions used with either the "is any of" or "is non of" operators, the text box where you can paste the items list has been improved as it can now contain up to 100,000 rows; items lists must be comma separated lists. The "is any of" or "is non of" operators are case insensitive, commas are always treated as line breaks, and data must match exactly (ex: "TEST1" will not return "TEST12").

Queries containing subqueries will still run, but they can no longer be added or edited. Use subgroups instead.

3:  Using Business Rules

A primary function of Query Data is to create business rules. Business rules are a single query that will automatically be applied to all other queries done on the project-side. For instance, you may want every project query to automatically include the following conditions:

• Remove panelists who have done your most recent projects
• Include panelists who have not been invited to a survey recently
• Remove all 'blacklisted', 'invalid' or 'unsubscribed' panelists

To create your business rule, create your query and save it. From the Query Data main page, right click the query name. A pop-up menu will appear with an option to set the query as the panel's business rule. Select it. To undo this action, right click the query name again. The pop-up menu will have an option to unset the query as the business rule.