Modifying Automatic Variable Data

Text type Automatic Variables can be modified in the same fashion as other variables; however, it is not possible to change the value of a Numeric type Automatic Variable. If you attempt to make a change you will receive the message "The Numeric Code is not valid for this variable" when you click OK (this feature may be added in a future release).

It is also not possible to modify the values of Automatic Date or Time of Day Variables if they were never calculated; however, you can update an Automatic Text Variable that was never calculated. We recommend modifying the values in the exported dataset, such as in Stata, SAS or SPSS.

Tip: If an interview is interrupted the Automatic Variables that were not yet encountered in the interview will not be calculated and will be “empty”.

Automatic Variables in Improperly Shut Down Interviews

If interview is improperly shut down (see Causes and Recovery of Corrupted CAPI Data Files), values for Automatic Variables prior to the point of the interruption are not written out to the data file. These variables can be recalculated by going back to the beginning of the interview using the Previous Question button and then using the Next Question button to go forward to the point of interruption. If this procedure is not followed Automatic Variables prior to the point of the interruption will have missing data.