When data is imported into the Displayr Data Sources tree, it can be stored as either a data set or a data table. This article describes the differences between the two formats and when to use each.
Data Sets
A data set is a format where the data is stored so that each column represents a variable and each row represents a case. Analyses are created by summarizing different sections, e.g., rows and columns, of the data, and the data can be viewed as a table by specifying the input variables. All analyses, including data tables, can be created from a data set.
Data Tables
A data table is a format in which the data is stored as a complete table. A key difference is that data tables usually contain data that is already aggregated or summarized. They are often created from data sets and used to display results such as percentages, means, counts, or other summary statistics.
Unlike data sets, which are the raw data inputs for analyses, data tables focus on the output and presentation of the analyzed data.
In Summary
- Data sets are the raw data inputs for analyses and should be used when you need to perform tabulation or run advanced statistical analysis before presentation.
- Data tables are when your data is already in its final tabular form, and ready to be used in calculations or charts for presentation.
Which data sources support which data formats
The following data sources can only be imported as data sets:
- Survey platforms (Qualtrics, Forsta, Survey Monkey, etc.)
- R code
- SQL queries
- Files with the following extensions:
- .sav or .zsav
- .mdd
- .xml or .sss
- .csv
The following can be imported as either data sets or data tables
- Files with the following extensions:
- .xlsx or .xls