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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.voxdash.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

In VoxDash, you can use geographical maps to visualize and analyze survey data by location.

1. Adding Map Variables During Survey Data Entry

You can incorporate location-based (“Map”) variables directly when configuring your survey data entry in VoxDash.

Step 1: Open Survey Data Entry

  1. Go to the Data Provider Panel.
  2. Open the File Management Table.
  3. Find the dataset that contains your survey data and select it to edit the survey data entry.
spss-entry-wizards
spss-entry-wizards

Step 2: Go to the Variable Setup step

  1. Proceed to Step 3 of the survey data entry process.
  2. This step is where you define your survey’s map variables.

Step 3: Add the “Map” variable

  1. Choose Add Variable (or the relevant option in Step 3).
  2. Based on your survey collection method, look for a variable related to geography, such as:
    • Country
    • Region
    • Province
    • (or other location levels used by your survey)
spss-entry-wizard-three

2. How to Choose the Right Map for Your Survey

VoxDash offers multiple map types to match different geography levels and formats.
  1. Navigate to the Geo page in VoxDash.
  2. Browse the available maps and open the one that best matches your survey variable (for example, a “Province” map if your survey records provinces).
  3. Once you find the correct map, you have two options:
    • Download the map regions Excel file and compare it with your survey variables/responses.
    • Create a new map if none of the existing maps match your needs.
For more details about available maps and how they work, read Map Overview.
geo-list

3. Matching Regions and Handling Special Responses

After selecting the map, you must ensure that your survey region values correctly match the map’s region names.

Match region names (abbreviations vs. full names)

  • If your survey uses abbreviations (e.g., short forms), compare them with the full region names used inside VoxDash.
  • Perform the match so VoxDash can correctly associate each response with the correct region.

Re-match mismatched regions manually

  • If any regions do not match automatically, you must manually remap them inside VoxDash.
  • This ensures your analysis and visualizations do not place responses in the wrong locations.

Handle “Don’t Know / Don’t Say” answers

If your dataset includes options like:
  • “Don’t Know”
  • “Don’t Say”
add map
Then in VoxDash, select “Don’t Map” for those options so they are excluded from geographic mapping.

4. Upload the Map

When everything is matched and configured:
  1. Click Confirm.
  2. VoxDash uploads the map and applies it to your survey variable mapping.

Customization

Customized maps allow you to create aggregated regions, combining multiple states or territories into new, meaningful geographic groupings. This is especially useful for organizations or studies that analyze data across custom territories, sales regions, or combined areas (e.g., “East Coast” or “Western Provinces”). In customization you can: 1. Create a new aggregated map based on your needs. 2. View previously aggregated maps provided by VoxDash’s admins.

Creating a New Customized Map

You can create a custom map by grouping multiple regions from the base map into new aggregated regions. This is useful when you want to analyze combined areas or custom territories. Follow these steps to create a custom map:
  1. Create Custome Map: Click on the Create Custome Map to start the process.
add-map
add-map
  1. Select Region(s): Choose one or more regions from the base map.
add-map
  1. Choose Aggregate Name: Assign a descriptive name for the new region (e.g., “Northeast Cluster”).
add-map
  1. Add to Aggregate List: Add the selected region(s) to your aggregate list. Repeat this step for each group you wish to create.
add-map
  1. Finish Builing Your Aggregate Map: Click on Finish to end the process and add the aggregated map to the custome map list.
add-map
Tip: Aggregation refers to combining numerical or categorical data from smaller regions (like states) into a larger, custom-defined region for easier comparison or analysis.

View All Customized Maps

Click on View All Customized Maps on questiosn’s page to see all the custom maps created by you or the data provider.
Each supported map type (from the Select Map dropdown) may have its own set of customized maps. Learn more about Map Visualization on Question page