Knowledge Base

Import Other Observational Data

To import event data stored as text files:

1. Choose File > Import > Observational Data. Alternatively, in the Project Explorer, click the Observations item, then in the overview window, click Import Observations.
2. If you already have an Import Profile for the observational data file, select the name of this profile from the Files of Type list. If not, create a Custom Import Profile.
3. If the data file does not have a column that specifies whether events have duration or not, choose how to import the behaviors by selecting Point Events (No Duration) or State Events (Mutually Exclusive) in the Treat New Behaviors As group.
4. Select the external data file and click Open.

Create a Custom Import Profile

Aim

To make a template for import of observational data stored in text files.

Prerequisites

• The observational data file contains a column with time stamps.
• Subjects, Behaviors, and Modifiers are in different columns.
• Each time stamp contains a value that indicates the start or stop of a behavior.

Procedure

1. Choose File > Import > Observational Data. Alternatively, in the Project Explorer, click the Observations item, then in the overview window, click Import Observations.
2. Choose Custom Import Profiles > New.
3. Browse to a representative file for defining your import profile and click Open.

Build the import profile by specifying the position of the header in the data file and the cells or columns containing the time information and the data. This is done by dragging and dropping cells. To undo a selection, select the cell to which content was dropped and press Delete. Follow the procedure in these sections:

1. Header
2. Delimiters
3. Time Information
4. Data

1 - Header

The Observer XT usually automatically detects header and data information in the file. If not, specify which part of the data file contains the header by choosing an option from the Header Detection list:

• Automatic (default) — The Observer XT is set to automatically detect the header and data sections in the data file. Choose one of the other options if automatic header detection does not work.
• Specify Tag — Select this option if the data file has a variable number of header lines and the header always ends with the same word. Specify the phrase (with either nominal or numerical information) that indicates the end of the header part of the file. If necessary, also specify the number of rows between the header line that contains this phrase and the data. For example, if the header always ends with a line containing the text [Data] and there is always an empty line before the data starts, enter [Data] in the End Tag field and 1 in the Extra Rows field.
• Specify Row Number — If the data file always has the same number of rows in the header, select this option and specify the number of header rows.

2 - Delimiters

The Observer XT uses the comma as the default delimiter to separate text in the header and data sets. However, the data file may use other delimiters. If this is the case, select the correct ones from the Select Header Delimiters and Select Data Delimiters lists. You can also select multiple delimiters.

3 - Time Information

Drag and drop content from the File Content section to the corresponding cells in the Profile Definition section.

If the header contains date and time information, drag and drop this to the Start Date box and the Start Time box in the Profile Definition section.

When you drop the date in the Start Date box, the Select Date Format window opens. If the date matches one of the predefined formats, The Observer XT automatically selects one, and Converted Date shows the date with a Conversion is OK message. If not, define your own format by typing a d for each number representing day, an M for month, and a y for each number representing year. If the proper date is shown after Converted Date, click OK.

When you drop the time in the Start Time box, the Select Time Format window opens. If the time matches one of the predefined formats, The Observer automatically selects one, and Converted Time shows the time with a Conversion is OK message. If not, define your own format by typing an H for each number representing hour, an m for minute, an s for second, and an f for each number representing millisecond. If the time is correct, click OK.