The Dimensions Data Model enables you to choose any combination of applications you need to accomplish your research objective, from specialized market research software to your own customized software. Since the Dimensions Data Model uses open, industry-standard technologies, data stored via the Dimensions Data Model can be accessed and processed by software such as Microsoft® Excel, Access, and SQL Server. This not only gives you greater flexibility and choice for your day-to-day operations, but also the opportunity to incorporate other information into your research and analysis, since virtually all organizations store large amounts of data in these formats.
If your research methodology calls for software that is not on the market, you may decide to develop your own. By writing an application to work with the Dimensions Data Model, you will be able to integrate it seamlessly with the other tools you use. To enable you to do this, the Dimensions Development Library includes instructions on how to develop software to work with the DimensionsData Model. An advantage of writing tools that support the Dimensions Data Model is that you won't need to upgrade them to make them compatible with changes to case data or metadata technology.
Many companies spend hours every week reformatting files, especially on projects using more than one data collection tool. Converting files is unnecessary with the Dimensions Data Model—simply write data source components (DSCs) that connect each file format with the Dimensions Data Model and you can use the software of your choice. Similarly, if you have historical data stored in a variety of formats, it can be instantly accessible using DSCs.
Managing changes to questionnaires over time or across countries can be one of the biggest challenges in market research. With older market research software, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the mass of files that are generated when you save each new version of the questionnaire and each new wave of data in separate files. The Dimensions Data Model eliminates this confusion by storing everything you need in just two central locations—one for the responses, or case data, and another for the information describing the survey data, known as the metadata.
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