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SOCI 208: Research Methods: Calculating Percentages from Raw Data & Retrieving Saved Work

Calculating Percentages from Raw Data

You must be logged in to the GSS Data Explorer to complete these steps.

  1. When you have identified a variable that you want to calculate percentages for, click Add to MyGSS or Save to MyGSS (the wording varies depending on the page you are on). You must be logged in to GSS Data Explorer for this to work.
  2. Near the top right of the page, locate the green menu that lists Tabulations and Extracts. Click on the plus sign (+) next to Tabulations to open that menu, then click Create New Tabulation. You can also get to the Tabulations area by clicking on MyGSS, then selecting Tabulations and clicking on the gray Create Tabulation button.
  3. On the Tabulation screen, choose Cross Tabulation and click next.
  4. On the Build Tabulation screen, you will choose and add your variables. GSS Year should already be filled in for the Column Variable box. Drag and drop the box containing the variable you want to tabulate from the right hand sidebar to the Row Variable box.
  5. Click the Exclude missing values check box near the bottom of the page. 
  6. Click the orange Create Tabulation box at the bottom of the page. After your click Create Tabulation, you will be taken to a new page where it shows your tabulation processing in the queue. It may take a couple of minutes for your tabulation results to be available.
  7. A completed tabulation will show up under the Completed area of the Tabulation section of MyGSS. Click on the name of your tabulation to open it. 
  8. On the page displaying your cross tabulation, look for the gray box near the center of the page that says Display Options. Click on this and change the selection in the Show drop-down menu to Column percent, and in the Number of Decimal Places menu, choose 1, then click apply.
  9. You can click Export in the center of the screen to export the results as an Excel file.
  10. To run a new data analysis, return to MyGSS and follow the same steps, starting with Step 3 above. 

Retrieving Saved Work

  1. Log in to the GSS Data Explorer.
  2. After logging in, you will be taken to the MyGSS dashboard.
  3. On the MyGSS page, you can access your list of saved variables (those that you put in your cart) and the analyses you have previously performed.

GSS Documentation

If you are interested in learning more about the GSS, including methodologies and codebooks, visit the GSS Documentation site.

Subject Librarian

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Carrie Pirmann
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Contact:
Bertrand Library
Research Help Area, Room 112
570.577.1068
carrie.pirmann@bucknell.edu
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM