Discover is a tool that lets you find the variables that most discriminate for any target group or groups. So instead of running lots of tables and trying to spot the discriminating variables for the items of interest, discover automatically finds them for you.
- Descriptors are the variables used for discriminating. Descriptors can include demographic, psychographic, behavioral variables, or a combination.
- Discover works by performing a series of statistical tests on each descriptor, comparing the cell value for each group with the value for those not in the group (the rest). These values are compared using Bayesian Statistics to calculate the probability that the group value is greater (or lower) than the rest values.
In this article
1. Choosing your descriptors
Selecting your descriptors is an iterative process. The key is to choose variables that are relevant to your analysis and avoid those that could dominate the analysis.
To achieve this:
- Choose axes that do not have too many elements. For example, instead of the Age axis, use the Age (Grouped) axis.
- For rating scales, it is best to use summary axes. For example, instead of using the Satisfaction Detail axes, use Overall Satisfaction – NZ (Grouped).
- Don’t double up. You can use the Age or Age (Grouped) axis, but not both.
- Measures are currently not supported.
- The data may be spread too thin with axes with too many elements. You should use variables with elements that have a robust sample.
- Avoid having too many elements. For example, if you choose thousands of variable elements, you may get hundreds or even thousands of statistically significant elements. This can make it difficult to determine what is important strategically.
2. Descriptor Manager
Discover will profile a target group against a set of defined descriptors. You can create different sets of descriptors and manage them through the descriptor manager.
- Descriptor groups created by the Project Owner are available to all users with access to the project, after the project is published.
- The descriptor manager displays descriptor groups under the "Owned by project."
- In the project tree, descriptor groups are displayed at the top above the divider line.
- Creators and Explorers can create their own descriptor groups.
- The descriptor manager displays descriptor groups under "Owned by me."
- In the project tree, descriptor groups are displayed at the top under the divider line.
a. Create a new descriptor group
To create a new descriptor group:
- Select the library/editor option from design menu to open the descriptor manager.
- Alternatively, you will find the option to open the descriptor manager under construct in the design menu.
You can then start dragging the axes you wish to use as descriptors.
Multiple Groups
You can create multiple descriptor groups allowing you to easily create customized analyses. There are a couple of ways to create a new descriptor group.
In the descriptor manager:
- You can drag and drop new items to the "Drag to add new descriptor group area" or
- You can choose the new descriptors group option at the bottom of the pane and then start dragging the relevant items.
New descriptor group option:
While you can create multiple descriptor groups, only the default group is used when creating a Discover analysis.
b. Edit a descriptor group
Once you have created a group you may want to edit the descriptors. In this example, we have two age axes included which is not recommended. You can access the descriptors and delete any unwanted items.
c. Rename a descriptor group
You can change the name of a descriptor group by double-clicking on the desired group. Please note you can only change the name of groups that you own.
To change the descriptor group name double click the label and type the new name.
d. Set default descriptor group
The first descriptor group you create is automatically set as the default group. When you add more descriptor groups, you can choose the default group for your Discover analysis.
In the descriptor manager pane, you can set the default group by selecting and then choosing the option set as default located at the bottom of the pane.
The default descriptor group displays in an orange font in both the manager pane and at the top of the project tree.
If you have multiple groups and you delete the default group, you must set another group as the default before you can create a Discover analysis.
e. Create a copy of a descriptor group
In the descriptor manager pane, you can create a copy of a group by selecting the relevant group and then choosing the option copy located at the bottom of the pane.
This may be useful if you want to create a new Discover analysis with new/different variables but don't want to start from scratch. You may want to use a Project Discover Group but make changes. You can’t make changes if you are not the owner, but you can take a copy and change it for your own use.
3. Descriptor Groups in analysis
Descriptor groups display at the top of your project tree in the Discover Descriptors area.
- The default group displays in orange font.
- The default group is used when creating a Discover analysis.
Learn more about Discover analysis.
Interacting with Descriptors and Discover selections
After creating a Discover analysis, you can still interact with your descriptors and discover selections.
- You can add or replace descriptors in your analysis with any axis from the project tree, even if they are not part of the descriptor group. You can achieve this by dragging and dropping the relevant variables into the Discover Descriptor drop zone.
- The same is true for your discover selections; you can add groups you are interested in profiling by dragging and dropping into the Discover Selection drop zone.
Adding a new descriptor to your analysis doesn't automatically add the item to the default descriptor group.
Editing Descriptor Groups
Adding a new descriptor to the analysis doesn't automatically add the item to the default descriptor group. If you want a new descriptor to be available for future analysis, add the item to the group using the descriptor manager.
This also applies to items you want to remove; while you can unselect from the analysis, to completely remove, you need to delete from the group in the descriptor manager.
When you add a Discover table to your story, then edit your descriptors, your story will automatically be updated.
Where to from here?
Learn more about Smart Analysis.