# Open-Text Survey Analysis: Build a Codebook Before Asking AI

Authored ToolFlowKit practice material. These records are teaching examples, not customer data, current vendor offers, or measured software results.

## Which denominator belongs under the theme chart?

In an authored practice set, four people answer a question about ordering and a fifth leaves it blank. Two answers mention shipping and two mention payment, with one answer mentioning both; the fourth answer is unrelated. There are four theme assignments across three relevant answers. Theme counts and the number of respondents are different totals, and the blank response should be tracked under the chosen denominator policy.

Before producing a chart, write whether percentages refer to all respondents, people who answered this question, or coded mentions. Multi-label theme percentages can overlap. Do not force a chart to total one hundred percent by quietly deleting a secondary theme.

Keep the existing five source responses with this summary. There are four assignments across three relevant answers, not four distinct people with a theme. A multi-label chart need not sum to 100%. The denominator should answer the reporting question and remain the same when another person reproduces the table.

| ID | Practice answer | Assigned labels |
| --- | --- | --- |
| S01 | Shipping took longer than expected. | Shipping |
| S02 | Shipping and the payment step were confusing. | Shipping; payment |
| S03 | I could not finish the payment step. | Payment |
| S04 | I like the color choices. | Out of scope for this ordering question |
| S05 | Blank response | Missing answer |

## Check the completed record



| Quantity | Practice count | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| All respondents | 5 | Includes one blank response |
| Answered this question | 4 | Three theme-relevant answers plus one unrelated |
| Shipping labels | 2 | 2/4 answered or 2/5 all respondents; state the choice |
| Payment labels | 2 | One answer also has shipping; labels overlap |

Guide: https://toolflowkit.com/guides/open-text-survey-coding

License: CC0 1.0.