Frequency Tables and Charts for Variables

MAXQDA lets you create frequency tables and corresponding charts for document variables, code variables, and focus group speaker variables. You can open this function from the ribbon menu:

  • Variables > Document Variable Statistics
  • Variables > Code Variable Statistics
  • Variables > Speaker Variable Statistics

After you click on one of the variable statistics options a split “Choice of Variables” window is displayed: Existing variables are listed on the left side; already selected variables are moved to the right. The arrow buttons in the middle allow you to transfer variables from one window to the other. You can also do this by double-clicking on the variable name.

Selection of variables
Please note: The colored squares in front of the variable names symbolize the origin of each variable. System variables that are created and managed by MAXQDA are marked in red; variables created by you have a blue square; codes that have been transformed into variables are marked in green.

Both lists can be alphabetized by clicking on the column headers. By selecting Only activated documents you can limit the analysis to currently activated documents, for example the transcripts of selected interviewees. The corresponding options Only activated codes and Only for activated focus group speakers are also available for code variables and focus group speakers variables.

Tip: The statistics functions for variables can also be accessed directly with the   icon in the “List of Document Variables“, the “List of Code Variables“ and the “List of Focus Group Speaker Variables“. MAXQDA then begins the statistical analysis for the selected variables, taking all documents, codes, and speakers into account that are currently visible in the Data Editor.

When you click OK MAXQDA will begin the statistical evaluation and display the results as frequency tables and charts.

The results window displays the results of the first selection of variables in a table. The “Frequency” column shows how many of the analyzed documents contain the variable value in question.

Frequency Table
Tip: Click on the column headers of the first two columns in order to modify the order of the table rows. For example, you can sort the frequency of categories in ascending or descending order.

The first column lists the various categories of the variable; the second column lists the absolute frequency; and the third lists the corresponding percentages. The fourth column shows percentages based on valid values, meaning missing values are excluded. If there are no missing values among the variables in question, the percentages of the third and fourth columns will be identical.

You can sort the rows by clicking on the column header of the first or second column.

Charts

When you switch to the chart view by clicking the chart icon in the toolbar, a bar chart of the variables in question appears in the place of the table view.

Vertical bar chart of the document variable “Age”
Please note: The order of chart segments is determined by the order of the rows in the table and can be modified accordingly.

You can customize the chart regarding colors, fonts, etc. in several ways and you can export it in different formats or copy it to the clipboard. For more information on customizing the chart, see section Frequency Tables and Charts for Top-Level Codes and Subcodes.

Missing values in frequency tables and charts

MAXQDA will treat the following as missing variable values:

  • For numerical and text variables, values set as “Missing values” in the “List of Variables” will be treated as missing.
  • For text variables, blank fields will also be treated as missing.

Descriptive statistics

When evaluating numerical variables, the Descriptive statistics symbol appears in the top toolbar. Clicking on the icon produces an output of the usual parameters such as including mean value and variance.

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