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Sampling Settings

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    The Sampling Settings page allows you to set default values and rules for the panel. These settings apply only to the panel currently in use.

    Go to the Sample Management > Sampling Settings menu command.

    The Sampling Settings page opens at the General tab.

    General

    Use this page to set the default properties for the panel - .

    Note: A number of the features on this tab can be shown or hidden as required for specific projects. To enable or disable features, go to the Panel Management > Panel Settings menu item Features tab (go to Features for more information).

    Figure 1 - The Sampling Settings page General tab

    This page contains the following properties and information:

    • Panel ID – the unique identification number for the panel. This is allocated automatically by Forsta Plus when the panel is first created and cannot be changed.
    • Date Exclusion Pre Days – this is the default value for the “number of days before mailing date” in the date exclusion function (go to Setting the Date Exclusion for more information).
    • Date Exclusion Post Days – this is the default value for the “number of days after mailing date” in the date exclusion function (go to Setting the Date Exclusion for more information).
    • Individual Rest Days Variable - a numeric variable can be included in for example a registration survey, which specifies a required number of "rest days" for the individual panelists. The panelists will then be excluded from any samples for the number of days specified. When you wish to make use of this property, use this field to select the variable that contains the panelists' individual rest days. With this property set, the Individual Rest Days for a panelist will by default override the global Date Exclusion rule (go to The Auto Job Exclusion Tab for more information) and this property can itself be overridden by other inclusions or exclusions such as category, property and manual. If no value is specified for a particular panelist, then the global rule will be used for that panelist. The variable must be an open numeric.
    • Category Exclusion Pre Days – this is the default value for the “number of days before mailing date” in the Category Exclusion function (go to Setting the Category Exclusion for more information).
    • Category Exclusion Post Days – this is the default value for the “number of days after mailing date” in the Category Exclusion function (go to Setting the Category Exclusion for more information).
    • Property Exclusion Pre Days - this is the default value for the “number of days before mailing date” for excluding properties(go to Property Definitions for more information).
    • Property Exclusion Post Days - this is the default value for the “number of days after mailing date” for excluding properties (go to Property Definitions for more information).
    • Survey History Include Months – the number of months that items in the survey history will be included in the BitStream files used by the sampling process. Type in the desired value.
    • Logging Enabled – enables or disables extra logging of the sampling balancing algorithm’s behavior. Note that this property is only available if the System Configuration setting SamplingLoggingEnabled is enabled on site.
    • Set Status of Job to Production… - a job will not normally be given the Production status before first real panelist has been invited by email. Check this box to set a job status to Production once the sample has been uploaded.
    • Validate Background Variables – check to enable validation that the fields in the sampling file exist in the survey to which the sample file is to be uploaded.
    • Job Number Pattern – a regular expression used to determine the legal syntax of a job number.
    • Default Project Filter Length – specifies the length of search-criteria when finding a survey to which a sample is about to be uploaded. This property should be used if the survey names correspond to Job Numbers.
    • Default Survey Rule Template – the Survey Rule Template that is to be used if no other Survey Rule Template is specified based on custom properties (go to Survey Rule Templates for more information).
    • Default Sample File Field Template – the Sample File Field Template to be used if no other Sample File Field Template is specified based on custom properties (go to Sample Field Templates for more information).

    • Default Data Source – for each sampling job that is created, the user must specify a data source (a BitStream variant created via a rule) that is used as the source for sampling. If you have multiple data sources, it is possible to specify which data source is to be set as the default when creating a new job.

    • Project Exclusion Default Enabled – this also applies to new jobs. When enabled, the new exclusion “Project Exclusion” is by default checked for new jobs. When enabled, the job must be linked to a project. This property is related to the Project Link Required property below.
    • Project Link Required – when checked, all new (and old) jobs must be linked to projects before they can be executed.
    • Category Required – when enabled, the user must select one or more categories on the Job Information page before the job can be executed.
    • Output Rule – use this to set the formatting rules for a sample file. Here you can specify the format for date fields, numeric and Boolean values, and create aliases for the sample file headers. Click Edit to open the Rule Editor page (go to Current Rule Overview for more information).
    • Posting Rule – you can run a panel rule for a specific sample file. For example, if you have a survey that requires specific header names for the columns in the sample database, then use this rule to change the headers as required. Click Edit to open the Rule Editor page(go to Current Rule Overview for more information).
    • CATI Scheduling - when you do a respondent upload from a file to a CATI survey you can set the CATI scheduling. This will automate the assignment and scheduling of your CATI respondents. Respondent data being loaded into a CATI-enabled survey can have one of the following scheduling modes applied: 
    • Simple scheduling – will by default create a call without an assignment with a time to call of now. The following respondent data can adjust the call created:
      CatiInterviewerID will assign the call to the specified group/interviewer ID, a blank (or invalid) value will result in no explicit assignment being made.
      CatiCallTime will assign the date and time to call based on the respondent timezone or the local company timezone if no timezone is specified, defaulting to the company local timezone, a blank (or invalid) value will result in the time to call to be set to now. An example value could be: 2001-03-14 13:30.
      CatiExtendedStatus will assign the extended status to that value, a blank (or invalid) value will result in the extended status being set to be Fresh Sample (16). Values other than 16 will not have a call created for them.
    • Full scheduling – will run all respondent data through the full scheduling engine and adhere to all calling rules. This mode should be used if advanced scheduling is required at the respondent loading time.

    Note: CATI Scheduling is only available for a CATI-enabled survey. Refer to the Professional Authoring documentation for further details.

    • Sampling Algorithm - allows you to specify the sampling algorithm to be used for single job execution. The options are Sequential Sampling and Concurrent Sampling (go to Concurrent Sampling Overview for more information). When Concurrent Sampling is selected, the Expected Return Variable property becomes available (see below).
    • Dimension Collapsing Handling - by default, Forsta Plus will collapse similar dimensions in the new combined matrix as this will minimize the complexity of the combined matrix. Using this property you can select to collapse only dimensions that are identical. This will maintain more complexity in the matrix, but the data in the resulting report will be easier to understand.
    • Support Overlapping Segments - when running Concurrent Sampling, a new combined matrix will be set up to include all the dimensions in the different jobs. Similar dimensions will be collapsed according to the Dimension Collapsing Handling setting selected (see above). If Dimension Collapsing Handling is set to "Identical" and "Support Overlapping Segments" is not enabled, only the overlapping parts of the similar dimensions will be available for sampling.
    • Skip Redistributing Excess Weights - after each sampling balancing iteration, any excess weights on segments are redistributed to segments with available panelists. This is done to increase the total outgo. However this can lead to over-sampling of some segments compared to the specified weights. Check this box to prevent redistribution and avoid the risk of over-sampling.
    • Expected Return Variable – this property appears in the tab when Sampling Algorithm (see above) is set to Concurrent Sampling and saved. This property can only be used if one of the variables in the database contains the panelists’ probability of answering a survey - in which case you select from the drop-down list the variable to be used. The variable will be a system field in the panel survey, and must be an open numeric object with a value between 0 and 1. The value of the variable will normally be calculated for the individual panelists using a rule, and will be based on the responses to previous surveys. Note that the variable cannot be zero for any of the panelists. This variable will be used when Pull To Expected Return is selected when running a concurrent sampling job (go to Execute Job Properties for more information).

    Refresh Survey History Job Information

    When creating a job, you can set some custom properties in Sample Management > Sampling Settings(go to General for more information) and choose that these properties should be copied to the Survey History table when the job is executed (by setting the Characteristic property to Loop Support (go to Question Properties for more information). However if the job's properties are later changed, they will only be changed on the job itself, not in the Survey History table.

    The Survey History table is only updated when Refresh Survey History Job Information is clicked; the values/properties in the Survey History table are then synchronized with the values/properties in the job. Note however that to be able to refresh the Survey History table, a number of criteria must first be met:

    • In the Panel Setup > Designer menu command, the Panel Variables toolbox > Survey History variables must be added with an ID the same as the ID of the custom property for the job.
    • The Characteristic property must be set to LoopSupport for all variables that are to be copied to the Survey History table.
    • The Property Definitions tab for the job must have the Survey History Support property checked (go to Property Definitions
    • for more information).

    The Refresh Survey History… button will then be active, and when clicked will synchronize the property values in the Survey History table with the property values in the job.

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