Simmons Insights Database Guide: Understanding Crosstab Results

Once you have built your crosstab and run  your report, you can export it.  Here we have a crosstab that examines the relationship between age of the survey respondents and those respondents who visit TGI Friday's the most.

A standard format is used to present the data from the crosstab with results shown for the sample, weighted, vertical, horizontal and the index. This data is shown for the total number of people who took the survey and the information is presented under the heading of "Total" in blue.  On the right side of the crosstab is the data for the respondents in the sample who stated that TGI Friday's is the restaurant they visit most.

Sample & Weighted

Here we take a closer look at the criteria of sample and weighted.  In this example, the sample refers to the number of survey respondents who visit TGI Friday's the most and this information is broken down by age.  Weighted refers to the projected number of adults in the United States who meet the criteria of the column and the row. In this case, the criteria for the column is selecting TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant you visit most and the row criteria  is being an adult 18 or over in one of the age groups in the crosstab.

The total number of respondents in this sample is 848.  Of those individuals, the breakdown by age is as follows:

• 80 respondents were 18-24 yrs of age
• 140 respondents were 25-34 years of age
• 131 respondents were 35-44 years of age
• 138 respondents were 45-54 years of age
• 167 respondents were 55-64 years of age
• 192 respondents were 65+ years of age

This sample includes just a small percent of the population, but the weighted figure shows how many people would fall into each of these categories if we project the sample figures to represent the U.S. population of adults 18 and over except for people who live in Alaska and Hawaii.  Note, that 000 is added to each figure. 

In this example, 8,903,000 people would state that TGI Friday's is the sit-down restaurant they visit the most and 1,280,000 people who selected TGI Friday's are 18-24 years of age.  The weighted figure for people in the 25-34 age group is 2,358,000 and according to the crosstab, the weighted figure for individuals 65 years of age and older is only 846,000 which is the smallest group included in the crosstab..  

 

Vertical & Horizontal

The vertical % and the horizontal % provides useful information for our example where we look at the age of the individuals surveyed who stated that they visit the family and  sit-down restaurant TGI Friday's the most.

 

Vertical refers to the percentage of people who have a given characteristic as defined by the column heading.  In our example, the given characteristic is selecting TGI Friday's as the sit-down and family restaurant visited most. When analyzing the information for the vertical percent, you would give the information in the vertical column first (percent who selected TGI Friday's) and then the information in the  horizontal row (age group).  So, for the vertical percent in our example, you would state the information in the following way:

1. Of the respondents who selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most, 

• 14.4% were in the 18-24 age group.
• 26.5% were in the 25-34 age group.
• 20.8% were in the 35-44 age group.
• 15.9% were in the 45-54 age group.
• 13% were in the 55-64 age group.
• 9.5% were in the 65+ age group.

Horizontal refers to the percentage of people who have a given characteristic as defined by the row heading. In the example presented here, the given characteristic is the age group of the survey respondent.  When analyzing the data for the horizontal percent, you would give the information in the horizontal row first (age group of respondent) and then the information in the vertical column (percent who selected TGI Friday's).  

For our example, you would report the horizontal percent in the format used below:

• Of the total survey respondents, 3.6% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.
• Of the respondents in the 18-24 age group, 4.6% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.
• Of the respondents in the 25-34 age group, 5.5% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.
• Of the respondents in the 35-44 age group, 4.6% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.
• Of the respondents in the 45-54 age group, 3.5% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.
• Of the respondents in the 55-64 age group, 2.8% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.
• Of the respondents in the 65+ age group, 1.6% selected TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant they visit most.

The Index 

The index assesses the likelihood, as compared to the total population, of meeting the specifications of both the column and the row.  In our example, the index looks at the likelihood of meeting the specification of selecting TGI Friday's as the family and sit-down restaurant you visit most, and the specification of belonging in one of the age groups shown in the crosstab.  

When reading Simmons data, the index represents the U.S. adult population with 100 being the average.  

 

Here we are going to interpret the index numbers for a question that looks at the age ranges for people who state that TGI Friday's is the sit-down and family restaurant they visit most.   

The  index for respondents in the 18-24 age group is 126.

• This means that this group is  26% more likely than the rest of the population to select TGI Friday's.  Simmons Insights shows a green up arrow to indicate this positive relationship. 

For the 25-34 age group, the index is 152.

• This is the highest index of any age group included in this survey. It indicates that the index for this age group  is 52% higher than the average of 100. 

The index for the 45-54 age group is 95. 

• Although this is 5% lower than the average, it is not low enough to make any significant judgments about it given the fact that there is a margin of error with surveys.  This is why Simmons has a yellow arrow which suggests that the results are neutral.  

Respondents in the 55-64 age group have an index of 76. 

• This is 24% below the average and shows that individuals in this age group are 24% less likely to select TGI Friday's as the sit-down and family restaurant they visit most.  When looking at the entire crosstab for the survey question involving age and TGI Friday's, it shows that the index is significantly below 100 for respondents who are 55 years old and older.

The index for the 65-69 age group is 56. 

• This number is 44% less than the average and suggests that older people are less likely to select TGI Friday's as the sit-down and family restaurant that they choose to visit the most.  Simmons uses a red downward arrow to indicate that the index is low for respondents who are 65-69 years of age.

For the 70-74 age group, the index is 50. 

• This indicates that respondents in this age group are 50% less likely than the rest of the population to choose TGI Friday's as the sit-down and family restaurant that they visit most.  

The last age group in this crosstab is respondents who are 75+ and the index for this group is 33. 

• This is 67% less than the rest of the population, hence the red downward arrow.  Next to the index of 33 is an asterisk which indicates that the sample size is so small that the data should be used with caution.  In our crosstab, the 75+ age group had a sample size of 60. 

Asterisks are used in Simmons to draw your attention to those instances where the sample size is so small that the projections may be unstable. In these instances it is recommended to only use this data with caution.  Simmons suggests that users obtain additional data from another source to corroborate the information that has an asterisk in the Simmons report.  Data with 2 asterisks means that the sample size is below 31 and is even less likely to be reliable.  It should be used with great caution.