The Facform program is provided to help you with awkward file conversions. It can be downloaded from www.winsteps.com/facets.htm or it may be already installed in the Facets folder: Facform.exe with user-manual Facform.pdf.
Example: A three-facet flat data file
Here is the data for an assessment of patient functioning. The performances of ten patients on a specific task were videotaped and rated by a number of raters on 70 items of performance. These data are in file "PATDAT.txt":
001BMT67MWP28 5555555555555 555 354545555555551 555 55 555555 35554
001DCS67MWP28 55555 555555 3 555 355445555555553 555 55 555 55 55554
|
(and so on down to)
|
010MMO 555 55555 55555 5 555 555 555 5555 55555 5 5555 5 55555 555 5
010PBG 45554 555554 555554 5 5554 554 555 55555 5555545 555 54 555554 554 5
^ ^ ^
1 4 31 Columns
The keyword list (in file PATIENTkey.txt) converts the flat file into a Facets file:
; File: PATkey.txt
; This converts a flat data file into a Facets file (Comments start with ;)
$Input = PATDAT.txt ; the flat file
$Spoutput=PATCON.txt ; the file for Facets specifications
$Output = PATFAC.txt ; the file of Facets-formatted data
; three facets
$Facets=3
; labels for the facets
$Flabel=1,clients
$Flabel=2,raters
$Flabel=3,tasks
; client id number
$Label=1,$S1E3 client number starts in column 1, ends in column 3
; rater label (non-numeric)
$Label=2,,$S4E6 rater "name" starts in column 4, ends in column 6
; count of task number
task=0 ; a user-defined variable to keep track of task number
; location in data record
pointer=30 ; a user-defined variable to keep track of location in record
; 70 tasks
$Do=70 ; perform the $Do-$Again loop 70 times
task=task+1 ; increment our "task" number
pointer=pointer+1 ; increment location in record
; current task number
$Label=3,task ; we want this to be the task element number
; current rating
$Rating=$S(pointer)W1 ; rating at location "pointer" has a width of 1 character
$Again
After running the following at the DOS prompt:
C:>FACFORM PATIENTkey.txt<
The Facets-format output file is PATCON.txt
; FACFORM Version No. 1.21
; from Keyword file: PATkey.txt
Facets = 3
Data file = PATFAC.txt
Labels =
1,clients
1=
2=
|
(and so on down to)
|
9=
10=
*
2,raters
1=BMT ; Facform assigns element numbers to these "names"
2=DCS
|
(and so on down to)
|
14=REP
15=RLP
*
3,tasks
1=
2=
|
(and so on down to)
|
69=
70=
*
The resulting Facets specification data file is PATFAC.txt:
Facform has combined observations in sequence by element number into single data records
1,1,8-70,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,,,5,5,5,,,3,5,4,5,4,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,1,,,,,,,,,,5,5,5,,5,5,,5,5,5,5,5,5,,3,5,5,5,4
|
(and so on down to)
|
10,13,1-70,4,5,5,5,4,,5,5,5,5,5,4,,5,5,5,5,5,4,,5,,5,5,5,4,,5,5,4,,5,5,5,,5,5,5,5,5,,5,5,5,5,5,4,5,,,,5,5,5,,5,4,,5,5,5,5,5,4,,5,5,4,,5
