Stat-Xplore : Getting Started

This section describes how to get started with Stat-Xplore. It shows you how to login to Stat-Xplore and start viewing and creating tables.

Step 1 - Login

Stat-Xplore is a browser based application which dislays the following homepage upon visitation:

Login page

When you first access Stat-Xplore you can choose to register for the application which allows users to access more comprehensive features of the application. You can register using the Register for Stat-Xplore button in the middle-right panel.

If you have already registered and have been given a username and password, enter the details in the top-right panel and click Log in.

Guest User Access

If you do not have a username and password and do not wish to register, you can login as a guest user. However, please note that guest users have limited functionality compared to registered users. To log in as a guest user, click the Guest log in option located in the top-right panel underneath the registered user login section. This will start a session in guest mode:

Guest login button highlighted

Guest users cannot save tables, create customised fields or create large tables in Stat-Xplore.

I Am Unable To Login

Stat-Xplore displays an error message if you enter the wrong login credentials. If you do this more than three times, your account may become locked.

If this happens, your account should automatically unlock itself after 20 minutes of inactivity. If this does not happen please contact us to have your account unlocked.

Take the Tour

The first time you login to Stat-Xplore, an interactive tour will display:

Tour page

This shows you some of Stat-Xplore's key features and explains how to open a dataset and build a table. If you want to view the tour again in the future, you can access it by selecting the Tour option from the menu in the top-right:

Tour option highlighted

Step 2 - Select a Dataset

Once you have logged in, Stat-Xplore displays the catalogue of available datasets.

Options highlighted for database selection

Use this screen to select the data you want to work with:

Datasets

This list shows all the datasets that you have access to.

  • Click a dataset to select it. Stat-Xplore will show more information about it in the area on the right, as well as a list of any saved tables for this dataset.
  • Double-click a dataset to start creating a new table.
Tables

This list shows all the saved tables for the selected dataset.

The tables in the Private folder are accessible only to you. Other tables are accessible to all Stat-Xplore users.

Double-click any of the tables to open them, or click New Table to start with a new, blank table.

New Table Click to open the currently selected dataset and start creating a new table.
Open Table Click to open the currently selected table.
Description This section shows more information about the currently selected dataset; including the data fields available for break down, any known issues, and a short description of the chosen dataset.
Search

Use this to search across the saved tables and datasets.

Locate and open the dataset or table you want to work with.

The rest of this section uses examples from the People on Universal Credit dataset.

Step 3 - Build a Table

Once you have opened a dataset, Stat-Xplore displays the Table View, where you can build and modify tables.

If you decided to start creating a table from scratch, you may either see an empty table if the dataset doesn't contain a mandatory field, or a table pre-populated with the mandatory field (usually a date):

New empty table

If you decided to start with a saved table, Stat-Xplore loads your table:


Saved table

The section on the left shows a list of available fields and field values that you can add to the table.

The area on the right is where your table displays. Unless you selected a saved table, this area will usually not contain any fields when you first open a dataset. The exception to this is if the database contains a mandatory field or a default table. If this is the case a basic table containing all the mandatory fields, or a default table, will appear in the section on the right even if you clicked New Table or double-clicked a dataset. You can then add fields to the table, and make other changes, but you are unable to remove the mandatory fields from the table.

To create or update a table, select the fields you want from the list and add them to either the table rows, columns, wafers, or filters. For example (using the People on Universal Credit dataset), suppose we want to create a table with Age Band in the rows and Gender in the columns:

  1. Go to the tree on the left. This is where you select the fields you want in your table. Items in the list have different icons depending on whether they are folders, fields or field items.
  2. Click Gender to expand the list of values available for this field:
    Gender list expanded
  3. Select the check boxes next to the values you want to add to the table, for example Male and Female:
    Gender selected
  4. Click Row:

    Row button displayed
    Stat-Xplore adds these values to the table:
    Added to row

    When you add the first field values to the table, Stat-Xplore also adds the default summation, so that your table has something to measure. Typically the default summation will be something like a count of individuals claiming a benefit. For the People on Universal Credit dataset, the default summation option is to count the number of Universal Claimants.

    Next we will add the Age Band field to the column headings. This time, as an alternative to selecting the values we want, we will use a shortcut: you can quickly add all the available values in a particular field just by dragging and dropping.

  5. Click and drag the Age (bands and single year) field towards the table. As you start to do this, the Column, Row and Wafer options appear:

    Column, row and wafer options visible 

    In this case we want to add this field to the columns. Drop the field onto Column.

    Stat-Xplore adds all the available age band values from Age (bands and single year) to the column headings:

    Age bands added
  6. Click Retrieve Data to perform the cross tabulation:
    Retrieve data button highlighted

Step 4 - Modify the Table

Now that we have created a basic table, there are a number of changes we could make. The following are just some examples.

Remove Values

Suppose we have decided that we do not want to include all the values of the Age (bands and single year) field in the table. We can use the tree on the left to remove individual field values.

For example:

  1. Click the icon to expand Age (bands and single year) if it is not already expanded:

    The field values that are currently in the table appear in bold and italics (in this case, all the values are in the table, because we used the drag and drop functionality to add them all):
    Removing age bands
  2. Select the check boxes for the values you want to remove from the table (for example Over 65 and Unknown/Missing), then click Remove.
    Remove button highlighted
    Stat-Xplore removes these values from the table.
  3. Click Retrieve Data again to repeat the cross tabulation:
    Retrieve data button highlighted

Move a Field to a Different Axis

Suppose you want to swap the columns and rows. Simply drag and drop the field names from within the table.

For example:

  1. Drag and drop the Age (bands and single year) field name onto the row headings:
    Drag and drop field name highlighted
    This adds Age to the row headings. As Gender was already in the row headings, it is nested next to Age:
    Age and Gender displayed
  2. Now drag the Gender field name onto the column:
    Gender field name highlighted
    The table updates:
    Table complete with fields

Remove a Field Entirely

The easiest way to remove an entire field from the table, is to drag and drop the field name onto the remove item icon:

Arrow pointing to Remove Item icon

Stat-Xplore removes the entire field from the table:

Age field removed

Use the Select All At Level Drop-Down List

Another way to add a field to a table is to use the Select all at level drop-down list to quickly select a large number of field values. This is particularly useful for hierarchical fields where you can choose to select all the items at a particular level in the hierarchy.

For example:

  1. Click the arrow to the right of the National - Regional - LA - OAs field and a drop-down list appears:
    Regional drop down list
  2. Select Region from the drop-down list. Stat-Xplore will select all the available values at this level in the hierarchy:
    Region selected
    If you expand the Region field you can see that Stat-Xplore has selected all the available values at this level in the hierarchy. At the top of the tree, Stat-Xplore also tells you how many items are currently selected (in this case, 11 items):
    Items selected with number visible
  3. Click Add to Row. Stat-Xplore adds all the selected values to the row headings:
    Regions added to row
  4. Click Retrieve Data to perform the cross tabulation:
    Retrieve data button highlighted

Clear the Table and Start Again

To clear the table and start again:

  1. Click the Clear Table icon:

    Clear Table icon

    Stat-Xplore will prompt you to confirm that you want to delete the table.

  2. Click OK:

    Prompt message

    Stat-Xplore clears the table:

    Table cleared

Use Shift-Click to Quickly Select Multiple Field Values

Another way you can quickly select multiple field values is to use Shift-click. This will select a range of field values.

For example, suppose you want to add all values of the Age (bands and single year) field from 16-19 to 40-44:

  1. In the tree, expand the Age (bands and single year) field and select the first item in the range (in this case, 16-19):

    Age band selected

  2. Hold down the Shift key and click the last item in the range (in this case, 40-44):

    Stat-Xplore automatically selects all the field values in between:

    Shift and click selected

  3. You can now click Add to Row or Add to Column to add the values to the table:

    Age bands added

Switch to a Different Dataset

If you decide you want to switch to work with a different dataset, click the Home link in the top left:

Home button highlighted

Switching to another dataset or table will clear the current table. If you think you might want to use the table you were working with again, you may wish to consider using the save table feature.

Next Steps...

This section has explained how to get started with Stat-Xplore. Now that you know how to login and create a simple table, see the following sections to learn more about what else you can do:

Attachments:

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