Understand the meaning of each data metric and how to select and reorder them on the Questions tab to compare results, trends, benchmarks, and response distributions.
To customize which data appear on the Questions tab, click Customize Metrics above the first question on the right side of the page. This will display the Edit Columns window.
Note: Customized data metrics apply only to scale-based questions.
Edit Columns window
The left area lists the metrics available for you to view. The right area lists the data columns that will appear on the Questions tab. The top-to-bottom order of the data columns in the right area reflects their left-to-right order on the tab.
- To add a metric, select it in the left area, and then click the add button (
). - To remove a metric, select it in the right area, and then click the remove button (
). - To change the order of a metric, select it in the right area, and then use the up button (
) and down button (
) to reposition it.
You can select from the following data columns:
Respondents
The number of people who responded to the question.
Trended Respondents
A graph showing the change in respondent counts across survey administrations to help track trends in participation and response rates.
Current Mean
The average response for the current survey administration, showing overall satisfaction or agreement among respondents.
Last Mean
The average response from the previous survey administration, showing prior overall satisfaction or agreement among respondents.
Trended Mean
A graph showing the change in the average response across survey administrations to help track progress and identify long-term trends.
Current Top Box
The percentage of highest-rated responses for the current survey administration, showing the proportion of strongest agreement among respondents.
Last Top Box
The percentage of highest-rated responses from the previous survey administration, showing the prior proportion of strongest agreement among respondents.
Database Mean n
The average response at the nᵗʰ percentile among teams in the comparison database, for benchmarking the current mean.
Database Top Box n
The percentage of highest-rated responses at the nᵗʰ percentile among teams in the comparison database, for benchmarking the current top box.
Frequency Distribution
The breakdown of percentages across the response scale, showing the distribution of responses and helping interpret variation in results. Position your mouse pointer over the distribution graphic to view the response percentages.
Change
The difference in mean values between survey administrations. A change of 0.2 or more is meaningful for surveys with fewer than 1,000 respondents; 0.1 or more is meaningful for larger surveys.
Mean Percentile Rank
The position of the average response (i.e., current mean) among teams in the comparison database. A higher percentile means better results.
Top Box Percentile Rank
The position of the highest-rated response percentage (i.e., current top box) among teams in the comparison database. A higher percentile means better results.
Note: Unless modified for the survey, the comparison database is the Gallup Overall database.
Note: You may not have access to all metrics, as availability depends on your account roles and privileges.
Additional Information
- Company Overall values correspond to data for the entire organization (i.e., all survey respondents).
- Recast values indicate past survey data calculated based on the survey respondents of the current survey (i.e., the past survey data exclude respondents not included in the current survey).
- NA appears for metrics that require previous survey data.
The Trended Mean and Trended Respondents items display the change in data over time for the current survey and up to four of the survey's most recent administrations. Position your mouse cursor over a data point to view the survey name and data value, or click the view more symbol (>) to view the question's trended data window.
Trended data window, graph format
Trended data window, table format
When viewing a question's trended data window, click the Graph and Table buttons to select a data format. When viewing the data as a graph, you can use the Metric drop-down list to select which data to view and position your mouse cursor over a data point to view the survey name, date range, and data value.