Design for efficiency/modularity

Reusable categories

Normally, categories defined manually

  • Add answer options for a given question
  • Save
  • Repeat for other questions–even if answer options are the same

However, can define categories and reuse them

  • Open categories pane
  • Create categories
  • Edit content
  • Select reusable category for questions, where appropriate

Macros

What

  • Code in an object whose contents are copied where invoked
  • Think Stata macros

Where use

Things that repeat

  • Don’t repeat yourself (DRY)
  • Widely used validations
  • Frequently used enablements

Variables

What

  • Can be used to capture constants
  • Years
  • Recall periods

Where use

Things that change

  • Recall periods
  • Years

Lookup tables

What

See the lookup tables section of the conditions in rosters slides

Where use

  • Anticipate changes (e.g., ag yields that may change over time)
  • Use ranges across several surveys (e.g., consumption units common to all survey swith consumption modules)
  • Replace long if-then-else chains in conditions