Flervalgsdata

Flervalgsdata is data collected from questions that allow respondents to select multiple options from a predefined list. It is a form of multi-label or multi-response data common in surveys, quizzes, and assessments. Unlike single-choice data, where only one option can be chosen, flervalgsdata records all selections made by each respondent, enabling richer representations of preferences, opinions, or characteristics.

Representation and formats: Flervalgsdata can be stored in wide format (one column per option with a binary indicator such as 0/1) or in long format (one row per respondent-option pair). In analysis, options may be treated as separate binary variables, or the data may be examined for co-occurrence patterns to identify combinations of choices that tend to appear together. For example, a respondent selecting options A and C would have A=1 and C=1.

Design considerations: When designing multi-select questions, ensure the options are collectively exhaustive and mutually exclusive where appropriate, provide an explicit open-ended “other” option if needed, and consider potential order effects. Plan for missing responses and weighting to support population-level inferences. Data provenance and coding rules should be documented to avoid ambiguity during analysis.

Analysis approaches: Common methods include calculating option-wise frequencies and share, analyzing co-occurrence or association between options, and applying multi-response or multi-label techniques. Researchers may use binary variable models, logistic regression with multiple outcomes, or specialized multi-response analysis to account for the non-independence of options.

Applications and challenges: Flervalgsdata is widely used in market research, public opinion surveys, and educational assessments. Challenges include handling non-independence of responses, potential over- or under-counting when aggregating results, and ensuring data quality through careful design and preprocessing.

See also: survey methodology, multi-response analysis, data encoding, open-ended responses.