Restructure Data-Stack Attributes

How To... > Work with Collections > Restructure Data-Stack Attributes

Fathom expects that cases will be in rows and attributes will be in columns, but that isn’t always the format in which people collect data. One common (and natural) format is to make a column for each group and record the values of some attribute under the column header. The example below shows heights for boys and girls recorded, in no particular order, in two columns.

The problem is that Fathom treats each row as a case, but, in fact, the two numbers in each row are not logically part of the same case. It would be better to work with a collection in which each case represents one person.

•Select the collection and choose Collection | Stack Attributes.

This creates a new collection called, in this case, Stacked heights, in which the values for all the columns of attributes are stacked on top of each other and a new attribute, called Group, is created with values corresponding to the names of the original columns. You will probably want to rename the attributes.

See also

Stack Panel