Codebooks

A codebook is an example of data-level metadata.

The purpose of a codebook or data dictionary is to explain what all the variable names and values in your spreadsheet really mean.

Information to include in a codebook includes:

• Variable Names
• Readable Variable Name
• Measurement Units
• Allowed Values
• Definition Of The Variable
• Synonyms For The Variable Name (Optional)
• Description Of The Variable (Optional)
• Other Resources

See: https://help.osf.io/article/217-how-to-make-a-data-dictionary

codebook R package

library(qualtRics)
library(readr)
library(dplyr)
library(codebook)
library(writexl)

surveys <- all_surveys()

survey_results <- fetch_survey(surveyID = surveys$id[2], # you can also replace surveys$id[2] with "<SUVREY-ID>"
                               verbose = TRUE)

survey_results <- select(survey_results, -c(1:17))

# survey_questions() retrieves a data frame containing questions and question IDs for a survey;
survey_questions <- survey_questions(surveyID = surveys$id[2])
survey_questions <- select(survey_questions, -c(1, 4))
survey_questions <- slice(survey_questions, -1)
  
# generate codebook

codebook <- codebook_table(survey_results)

codebook <- rename(codebook, qname = name)

codebook <- full_join(survey_questions, codebook, by = "qname")

write_xlsx(codebook, "documentation/codebook-demo.xlsx")

The labelled R package can also do something similar.