With comparison reporting, each Tier 1 record can have information that's been recorded in the same Tier 1 or Tier 2 form across multiple records over time displayed in a single row of data. This can make it easier to interpret significant trends within your report.
Consider using comparison reporting if you're looking to compare any of the following:
Pretest vs. post-test scores for an individual or household
Projected numbers vs. actual numbers
Initial/baseline assessment score vs. most recent score
Initial/baseline score vs. interim/incremental score vs. final score
Most recent assessment vs. any previous assessment
Progress by year, specific timeframes, or other filtered results
Follow the steps listed below to learn how to utilize Apricot's Report Builder features for displaying and interpreting record data comparisons.
Step 1: Add your field of interest
Locate the field of the form you would like to compare and pull it into the report section at least twice depending on your end goal.
Note: A Tier 1 record must have as many records as comparison columns you want to make, or they won't be included in the report. For example, if you want to report on three different records of a form for your participants, participants with only two records will not be included in the report.
In our example report, we will compare clients' pre-test scores with their post-test scores, so our field has been brought in twice.
Step 2: Adjust the form properties
Within your report section, click on the form name that contains your comparison field to open its properties.
Next, select "First Created" in the Limit section to apply this limit to the entire report section. The report will then display only the first created record for each Tier 1 record in the section. For our report, this is the pre-test record.
Then, click the + icon next to Aliases, name the alias and select its limit. Since we're comparing the pre-test record to the post-test record, we've named our alias "Post-Test" and selected the Last Created limit.
Click Apply to close the properties window.
Step 3: Review your limit sections
Once a limit or alias has been added to your report section, the report will automatically create a limit section for each one. These sections are hidden in Edit mode by default, but you can expand them by clicking the "Show" button in your primary comparison report section.
Pull in the field you're looking to compare into these limit sections. The row at the top that is not grayed out will differ between sections depending on which limit is applied to it. Below is a screenshot of the First Created limit section in the example report.
While limits and aliases are designed to reduce the number of rows in your report, these limit sections are a way for you to double-check your work in the Report Builder and make sure the records pulled into your primary comparison section are what you intend to show.
Step 4: Assign limits to your columns
Back in the primary comparison section, click the gear icon next to the column meant to show the Last Created limit or "Post-Test" assessment score.
Expand the Form Info section and you'll find a form name selected by default. This is the first limit we created for the report section, which the limit is named after. The column meant to show the First Created limit or "Pre-Test" value will also already have this selected by default.
In this Last Created or "Post-Test" column, select the alias with the Last Created limit applied to it. This will attach the alias name to the column name. Then, select Apply and repeat this step for as many other aliases you may have created.
Note: You can also choose to compare the First Created record with the Last Created record within a specified time period as opposed to the last record overall. To do this, you can add Global Values to your report to reflect the dates of your desired time period, then add a global filter to your Last Created limit section so it displays the last record created between the Start Date and End Date. To learn more about this method, click here.
Step 5: View the comparison
Publish the report from the Report Actions palette and choose to run your report to see your changes. Rather than having each record's assessment scores in a separate row, each participant has their most important scores displayed in one row.
Step 6: Interpret your data
Now that the data has been reduced to one row per Tier 1 record, we can find how much has changed over time. Adding special columns (ex. Number Calc, Section Summary, Section Count) to the report can allow you to calculate the following in your various comparison reports:
Difference in scores
Percent of change based on that difference
Change relative to the desired change
Average improvement
Individual client/household/program's level of change relative to the group average
To learn more about special columns, click here.
In our example report, we added a Number Calc column to the report to subtract the pre-test score from the post-test score to see how the values increased over time. This quantifies how much the participants' assessment scores increased after completing the program.
What else do you need help with?
Not what you're looking for? Navigate to overview