When trying to decide whether crosstabulations are appropriate for your project, consider your objectives.

Will they be more readily met with information about specific groups within your circulation or is generalized/ aggregated data enough?

With each set of crosstabulations you request, you can choose up to 14 banner points (columns) we’ll use to break out your data.

Table 1 below uses one banner point while Table 2 uses three banner points: Total, 2+ years, and less than 2 years.

Understanding Crosstabulations

In many research reports, results are presented in aggregate only—that is, the data tables are based on the entire group of respondents. Crosstabulations are simply data tables that present the results of the entire group of respondents as well as results from sub-groups of respondents. They enable you to examine relationships within the data that might not be readily apparent when analyzing the total response.

In the example of an aggregated data table below, you might reach the conclusion that XYZ Publication is just right in the balance between being too technical and too simple.

Base: XYZ readers 1000
100%
5-too technical 180
18%
4 180
18%
3-just right 180
18%
2 180
18%
1-too simple 180
18%

Crosstabulations show you there is more to this story than meets the eye. When you look at the same results, but with the responses categorized by the respondents’ level of experience, you see clear differences between the two groups—perhaps leading you to different conclusions.

Years of Experience: 2+ years less than 2 years
Base: XYZ readers 1000
100%		 500
100%		 500
100%
5-too technical 180
18%		 0
0%		 180
36%
4 180
18%		 0
0%		 180
36%
3-just right 180
18%		 140
28%		 140
28%
2 180
18%		 180
36%		 0
0%
1-too simple 180
18%		 180
36%		 0
0%

Crosstabulations provide an effective way to drill deeper into your research results—for a minimal investment. Ask a Readex Research associate if you have any questions about crosstabulations and their use.