Choices sheet: define variable categories

This sheet is used to define the dropdown menus categories to be used for categorical variables, or the possible values for “choice_formula” type variables.

Rules

  • a list is made of several consecutive lines
  • a line represents one value of a given list, and correspond to one item of the associated dropdown menu
  • different lists are written one below the other
  • you can define as many lists as needed

List Name

This is a free text field used to define a dropdown list. Lines with the same name filled belong to the same list. This name is used in the Dictionary sheet to identify the dropdown list to be used for a given variable, in the Control details column.

Naming lists

It is not mandatory, but we advise that you begin all your list names by “list_” to easily separate them from variable names in the dictionary.

With the exception of lists used for “choice_custom” type variables, it is recommended not to leave any blanks in the list name. Instead, replace them with “_”, for example.

Ordering list

This is a free text field. Fill in integers to define the order in which the options are displayed in the dropdown menu.

Label

This is a free text field used to list the different values to be displayed in the dropdown menus.

Warning

Categories names should not begin with a “<” or a “>”.

Short label

This is a free text field in which you can enter a shortened version of the label, to be used in the Case Report Form generation tool in the linelist, to make the CRF more condensed.

Example

In the setup file:

In the linelist, for the age unit column:

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