Library: Downloading Your Survey Data

When you are ready to download the data from your survey, you can select from the following file formats.

SPSS

This option produces a data file (filename.sav) for SPSS versions 14+. This file type includes variable names, variable labels, answer values, etc. Variable names are automatically modified for compatibility with SPSS. All SPSS files are compressed and delivered as a ZIP file (filename.zip).

Excel

This option produces a data file (filename.xls) for Microsoft Excel, versions 2002 and newer. An Excel file can contain multiple workbooks and each workbook is limited to 256 columns. If your data file contains more than 256 columns, a new workbook will be added each time this limit is reached. Please note that Excel may automatically format data incorrectly (e.g., turning 1-1 into Jan 1). All Excel files are compressed and delivered as a ZIP file (filename.zip).

Tab Delimited

This option produces a universal database text file (filname.txt) with one TAB character separating each value. This file type contains no "text qualifiers". The tab delimited data file can be imported into any software program.

Comma Separate Values (CSV)

This option produces a universal database text file (filname.csv) where each value is separate by a quote-comma-quote triad (i.e., ","). The comma is considered the text "delimiter" and the quotation mark is considered the "text qualifier". The CSV data file can be imported into any software program and is automatically recognized by Microsoft Excel. Please note that Excel is limited to 256 columns (i.e., variables) whereas the CSV file may contain more.