Calculate the overall mean in single selection tables - Response mode vs. question mode

The overall mean can basically be thought of as the average of a set of averages. Blue can calculate the overall mean for Single Selection Tables, but depending on your goals the calculation can be performed two different ways that may return slightly different results in a Question - Score report block. By default Blue uses Question Mode when calculating the overall mean for a Single Selection Table, however, Response Mode is also an option.

Response Mode vs Question Mode

When the overall mean is calculated by question mode, each question is given the same weight. This means that regardless of the number of responses to a question, all the questions have an equal amount of importance.

Calculating the overall mean based on question mode is accomplished by calculating the average response for each question then calculating the average of those averages. In the table below, the averages are calculated for Q1, Q2, and Q3 and appear in their respective columns along the bottom row. The overall mean is highlighted in the bottom row.

When the overall mean is calculated by response mode, each response is given the same weight. Here, regardless of the number of questions in a Single Selection Table, each respondent is given the same importance.

Calculating the overall mean based on response mode is accomplished by averaging the feedback for each respondent. Once the average for each respondent has been calculated, the overall mean can be calculated. In the right most column in the table below the averages are calculated for R1, R2 and R3 and the overall mean is highlighted.

Overall mean calculation

	Q1	Q2	Q3		Response Mode Overall Mean
R1	1	1	1		3/3 = 1
R2	3	3	3		9/3 = 3
R3	n/a	2	1		3/2 = 1.5
					5.5/3 = 1.83
Question mode overall mean	4/2 = 2	6/3 = 2	5/3 = 1.67	5.67/3 = 1.89

Selecting Response Mode or Question Mode

By default Blue uses question mode when calculating the overall mean for a Single Selection Table. Changing Blue to calculate the overall mean based on response mode is a simple process:

Log on to Blue with the blueadmin account.
Navigate to Configuration - System settings.
Download a copy of the BlueAppConfig.xml.
Open the BlueAppConfig.xml file in a text editor.
Find the entry: <ReportAverageMode>QuestionMode</ReportAverageMode>.
Replace QuestionMode with ResponseMode.
Save the XML file.
Upload the BlueAppConfig.xml file.
Open the Blue Administration Console and navigate to Reporting Services. Once in Reporting Services, click on Update Configuration so that Blue will begin calculating the overall mean based on the ResponseMode calculations.