Math operations and a true average function | XM Community

Math operations and a true average function

  • 19 November 2020
  • 1 reply
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So math operations in Qualtrics are limiting to us, because they don't have an actual "average" function. Sure, you can take three variables and add them up and divide by three, but if someone doesn't answer a question, you get bad data.
Here's an example. Say I want to average variables A, B and C. I'd do a math op that basically says X = (A+B+C)/3. And if A, B and C were all populated, it would work. But if not, Qualtrics doesn't treat the missing answer as a blank...it treats it as a zero, and throws your calculation off.
Has anyone ever figured out a way, perhaps through custom code, to generate a true average from numerical data in a survey?


1 reply

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I ran into this issue within a dashboard but ended up creating a custom metric that had filters applied to the variables to include only our available options. This way it would not include anyone who bypassed the question or choose "n/a" in the count. It sounds like you are working in the Stats iQ section though which I am not too savvy in yet so I will be watching this thread for answers.

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