Help Center

Editors can use text categorization to sort the responses in an open text variable into categories. Crunch sends the respondent-level responses to a language model, which finds the main themes and assigns each response to one or more of them. You can review and adjust the categories before you use them in your analysis. 

You can save your categories as a taxonomy (also known as a code frame) and reuse it later on the same dataset or a different one. 

Note: This feature is currently only available for Editors. 

Creating a Taxonomy 

1. Open a dataset and locate the text variable you would like to categorize in Explore mode. 

    

2. Click the three-dot menu on the top right of the variable card and click Categorize Responses.

    

3. The builder will open. "Create new" is selected by default. Keep this selected. We will discuss using an existing taxonomy later in this article. Click the Categorize button.

    

4. Crunch will categorize the responses. This may take some time. Review the categories created in the taxonomy.

   • Labels per response: Crunch defaults to categorizing responses in multiple categories. Change to Single to limit each response to a single category. Crunch will take the first mention in cases of multiple potential matches. Click Update to update counts and percentages for each category. 
   • Output variable: Crunch assigns a default variable title, alias and description for the new categorized variable that will be created. You can update these fields as needed. 

    

5. Click the Edit categories button to update the taxonomy.
   • Category name: update or replace any category name. 
   • Category description: update or replace any category description. 
   • Combine categories: check the box beside two or more categories and click the Combine button to combine the categories together. You can also use drag & drop to combine categories. 
   • Reorder categories: drag them into a different order.

   • Add category: click the Add category button to create a new category. Be sure to give your new category a category name and description. 

      

6. Click the Save button to save changes. Click discard changes to cancel and return to the previous screen. "Save as" will be discussed later in this article. 

    

7. Click the Update button to update counts and percentages using your updated taxonomy.

    

8. When you are ready to create your new categorized variable, click the Save variable button. This may take some time. 

    

9. The builder will close and you will be taken to your categorized variable in Explore mode. Click on any category to see the underlying responses.

Using an existing taxonomy

An existing taxonomy keeps your categories consistent across datasets. Instead of generating new themes, Crunch assigns each response to the categories you've already defined. This makes results comparable across waves of a tracker, across markets, or between related studies. It also saves time when you already have an agreed coding frame. Follow these steps to use an existing taxonomy: 

1. Open a dataset and locate the text variable you would like to categorize in Explore mode. 
2. Click the three-dot menu on the top right of the variable card and click Categorize Responses. 
3. The builder will open. Locate the existing taxonomy you would like to use. By default, all taxonomies that were created in the same folder where your dataset is saved are shown. If your taxonomy is saved in another folder, click the "Choose from folder" button and navigate to the correct folder to select your taxonomy.
4. Click the Categorize button and follow the same steps as above. Any changes made to the taxonomy will be saved when you create the categorized variable. 

Save As 

In the above examples, the taxonomy is saved or updated when the categorized variable is created. When you are in Edit categories, you can make updates to the taxonomy and click the "Save as" button to save the taxonomy without creating a categorized variable. 

1. Follow steps 1 - 5 in Creating a Taxonomy. 
2. Make updates to the taxonomy as needed.
3. Click the Save as button. 
4. A pop-up will appear. Give your taxonomy a name and press Save.
5. The taxonomy has been saved and can be used to categorize text variables.