Triple-S Schema and Data Files

Triple-S

Data Import expects the Triple-S schema definition file to be in Triple-S standard format.  The following is a list of points to note when creating Triple-S schema definition files.

For installations previously using Generic Refresh, some changes may be required to the schema and data files previously used.
  1. If the format of the data file is not specified in the Triple-S definition file then it is assumed to be fixed format. The format required should be specified within the <record> element, and can either be set to “fixed” or “csv”. For example:
    2. <record ident="A" format="csv"
  2. If the format of a single variable is not specified in the Triple-S definition file then it is assumed to be a categoric numeric. The format required should be specified within the <variable> element, and can either be set to “literal” or “numeric”. For example:
    3. <variable ident="13" type="single" format="literal">

    Generic Refresh treated all singles as categoric text, so the addition of format=”literal” may be required to single variables previously created using Generic Refresh.

  3. Quantity variables require a mandatory tag which must contain either a range of values or specific values. Generic Refresh allowed the values tag to be empty. (Note that if a range is used for a quantity, no validation is performed using the values – it is only used to determine the size of the underlying database column).
  4. When importing dates, the dates must be specified in the format YYYYMMDD within the data file.
  5. Data Import will validate the Triple-S definition file before processing can continue. In particular, a tag is invalid within a character variable definition, and a tag is required only for a character variable definition – it is invalid for all other variable types. For complete documentation about the Triple-S standard see the website http://www.triple-s.org. Validation tools may also be useful, e.g. http://triples-validator.appspot.com/
  6. If the schema definition file is not encoded as UTF-8, the encoding needs to be supplied in the schema definition. For example:
    7. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
  7. Note that if the data file contains a value for a coded variable that has not been defined in the Triple-S definition, the whole record will be rejected.
  8. When importing categoric text values, Data Import performs case-insensitive matching of the codes.
  9. Note that when using multiple variables the codes must start from 1 and be sequential.  There should be no missing sequence numbers.

Sample Triple-S Files

The sample Triple-S files below contain an example of each data type.

The example assumes the following (both of which are defined in the Triple-S configuration file):

  • the PanellistID is the identifying field, and all other fields are profile data.
  • the labelName attribute is set to the default of “name” and therefore the Q_Panel variables will be named using the <name> attribute.

An example of a Q_Panel extended date time variable is also shown.  In order for this to work, the following namespace must be added to the Triple-S definition file, i.e.

<sss version="2.0" xmlns:marsc="http://www.marsc.com/”>

Sample CSV format Triple-S definition file

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<sss version="2.0" xmlns:marsc="http://www.marsc.com/">  
  <date>13-September-2012</date>
  <time>12:00:00</time>
  <origin>MARSC</origin>
  <survey>
    <name>Main Profiler</name>
    <title>Main Profiler</title> 
    <record ident="A" format="csv">
 
      <variable ident="1" type="character">
        <name>PanellistID</name>
        <label>PanellistID</label>
        <position start="1" />
        <size>255</size>
      </variable>
     
      <variable ident="2" type="single" >
        <name>MStat</name>
        <label>Marital Status</label>
        <position start="2" />
        <values>
          <value code="1">(1) Married</value>
          <value code="2">(2) Single</value>
          <value code="3">(3) Divorced</value>
          <value code="4">(4) Co-habiting</value>
        </values>
      </variable>
     
      <variable ident="3" type="character">
        <name>Postcode</name>
        <label>Postcode</label>
        <position start="3" />
        <size>15</size>
      </variable> 
   
      <variable ident="4" type="single" format="literal">
        <name>SocialClass</name>
        <label>Social Class</label>
        <position start="4" />
        <values>
          <value code="A">A</value>
          <value code="B">B</value>
          <value code="C1">C1</value>
          <value code="C2">C2</value>
          <value code="D">D</value>
          <value code="E">E</value>
        </values>
      </variable>
   
      <variable ident="5" type="quantity">
        <name>NoInHH</name>
        <label>Number in Household</label>
        <position start="5" />
        <values>   
  		<range from="1" to="10"/>
 	</values>
      </variable>
     
      <variable ident="6" type="multiple">
        <name>SundayNews</name>
        <label>Sunday Newspaper</label>
        <position start="6" />
        <values>
          <value code="1">Independent on Sunday</value>
          <value code="2">Mail on Sunday</value>
          <value code="3">Observer</value>
          <value code="4">Sunday Express</value>
          <value code="5">Sunday Mirror</value>
          <value code="6">Sunday Telegraph</value>
          <value code="7">Sunday Times</value>
        </values>
      </variable>
   
      <variable ident="7" type="logical">
        <name>OwnMobilePhone</name>
        <label>OwnMobilePhone</label>
        <position start="7" />
      </variable>
      
      <variable ident="8" type="date">
        <name>DOB</name>
        <label>Date of Birth</label>
        <position start="8" />
      </variable>

      <variable ident="9" type="time">
        <name>TOB</name>
        <label>Time of Birth</label>
        <position start="9" />
      </variable>

      <variable ident="10" type="date" marsc:extended-type="datetime">
        <name>Next Appointment</name>
        <label>Next Appointment</label>
        <position start="10" />
      </variable>
         
    </record>
  </survey>

Sample CSV format Triple-S data file

A csv data file which matches the sample Triple-S definition file above could contain the following data:

---
10030,1,GU1,C1,4,0011010,Y,19730321,093023,20150720123030
---

Sample Fixed format Triple-S definition file

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<sss version="2.0" xmlns:marsc="http://www.marsc.com/">  
  <date>13-September-2012</date>
  <time>12:00:00</time>
  <origin>MARSC</origin>
  <survey>
    <name>Main Profiler</name>
    <title>Main Profiler</title> 
    <record ident="A" format="fixed">
 
      <variable ident="1" type="character">
        <name>PanellistID</name>
        <label>PanellistID</label>
        <position start="1" finish="10"/>
        <size>255</size>
      </variable>
     
      <variable ident="2" type="single" >
        <name>MStat</name>
        <label>Marital Status</label>
        <position start="11" finish="11"/>
        <values>
          <value code="1">(1) Married</value>
          <value code="2">(2) Single</value>
          <value code="3">(3) Divorced</value>
          <value code="4">(4) Co-habiting</value>
        </values>
      </variable>
     
      <variable ident="3" type="character">
        <name>Postcode</name>
        <label>Postcode</label>
        <position start="12" finish="26"/>
        <size>15</size>
      </variable> 
  
      <variable ident="4" type="single" format="literal">
        <name>SocialClass</name>
        <label>Social Class</label>
        <position start="27" finish="28"/>
        <values>
          <value code="A">A</value>
          <value code="B">B</value>
          <value code="C1">C1</value>
          <value code="C2">C2</value>
          <value code="D">D</value>
          <value code="E">E</value>
        </values>
      </variable>
   
      <variable ident="5" type="quantity">
        <name>NoInHH</name>
        <label>Number in Household</label>
        <position start="29" finish="30"/>
        <values>   
 		 <range from="1" to="10"/>
 	</values>
      </variable>
 
      <variable ident="6" type="multiple">
        <name>SundayNews</name>
        <label>Sunday Newspaper</label>
        <position start="31" finish="37"/>
        <values>
          <value code="1">Independent on Sunday</value>
          <value code="2">Mail on Sunday</value>
          <value code="3">Observer</value>
          <value code="4">Sunday Express</value>
          <value code="5">Sunday Mirror</value>
          <value code="6">Sunday Telegraph</value>
          <value code="7">Sunday Times</value>
        </values>
      </variable>

      <variable ident="7" type="logical">
        <name>OwnMobilePhone</name>
        <label>OwnMobilePhone</label>
        <position start="38" finish="38"/>
      </variable>
      
      <variable ident="8" type="date">
        <name>DOB</name>
        <label>Date of Birth</label>
        <position start="39" finish="46"/>
     </variable>

     <variable ident="9" type="time">
        <name>TOB</name>
        <label>Time of Birth</label>
        <position start="47" finish="52"/>
      </variable>

      <variable ident="10" type="date" marsc:extended-type="datetime">
        <name>Next Appointment</name>
        <label>Next Appointment</label>
        <position start="53" finish="66"/>
      </variable>
         
    </record>
  </survey>
</sss>

Sample Fixed format Triple-S data file

A fixed format data file which matches the sample Triple-S definition file above could contain the following data:

---
10030     1GU1            C1 40011010Y1973032109302320150720123030
---