Why was I selected?

Note

This functionality requires a Reference URN, displayed in FastStats as an ID Variable - for example - to be present on every table that has been used within the underlying selection. It also requires the ID variable from the table the selection was created on to be present on the Data Grid.

The "Why was I selected?" functionality is another way in which FastStats allows you to understand the logic in a selection that you have created.

Example 1¶

A selection that uses a relative date rule will not necessarily return the same records as time moves on, but it is possible to amend Today's date within the dialog and see why the record was selected at the time the selection was created.

For example, the following selection was created on 12^th March 2018 and identifies High Earners living in the South West Region who have travelled in The Last Month:

To view the results you would drag a data grid onto the selection and determine what information to display.

The screen shot below shows that Person URN 82645 has been selected because they meet the criteria for income and region and, based on today's date being 12^th March 2018, travelled at the beginning of March 2018 i.e. in The Last Month.

A right click on a record will give you the option to ask Why was I selected?

This will result in a new window appearing with tab(s) to represent any records selected in the data grid. In this example, the fact that all clauses are shown in green reinforces the fact that this person meets the selection criteria. When conditions or clauses are not met, they will be shown in red.

Note

These colour options can be changed by navigating via File->Tools->Options->Selection->Selection View

Time passes and today is 12^th April 2018.

A right click on the same record within the data grid gives access to the Why was I selected? function but, as the screen shot below shows, this record does not now meet the date criteria:

However, if challenged to explain why the record was selected in the first place, by changing the Today's date box to the date the selection was created (12/03/2018} and clicking the Update button, we can see once again that this record did meet the criteria at that point in time.

Note

This functionality only applies in selections where a relative date rule is used.

Example 2¶

The following selection identifies Low Income Males or High Income Females:

Drag and drop a Data Grid onto the selection, select record(s), right click to access the Why was I selected? dialog:

In the screen shot above, you can see record 122442 was selected because he met both conditions of the first clause and was not required to meet any of the remaining conditions due to the OR operator.

Likewise, in the screen shot above, you can see record 122444 was selected because she met both conditions of the second clause and was not required to meet any of the remaining conditions due again to the OR operator.

Example 3¶

Finally, you may also want to check why some records have not been selected. In this case you have the opportunity to enter a Unique Reference Number (URN) into the box at the top of the Why was I selected? window.

Clicking the Check this URN button will then add a new tab to the window for that record.

The screen shot below shows that this record met 2 of the conditions but did not satisfy either of the clauses. This record would be classified as a Low Income Female which is a type of record we were not looking for.