Digital Measures FAQs
Miscellaneous Data Questions
How often should I update my Digital Measures data?
Monthly is best so that reports are current and can be used to promote your research. If data is not updated monthly, it should be updated quarterly so that your information on the HSB web site reflects the latest information regarding your research publications and presentations.
What is Banner data and when is it imported?
Banner data includes personal data, permanent administrative data, department, position, education, and course schedules. The university administrator has developed scripts that will be run nightly to move Banner data to Digital Measures.
If information is wrong in Digital Measures, why does it need to be corrected in Banner first?
If the information is not corrected in Banner, any corrections in Digital Measures will be overwritten when the new semester data is imported. To correct education data, contact Debi Talley, Deborah_Talley@baylor.edu. To correct other data, contact Marcia Dutschmann, Marcia_Dutschmann@baylor.edu.
When are new faculty/staff accounts created?
New accounts may be created upon request. They should be created when the semester data is imported. The import occurs after the twelfth day of class.
Can records be transferred from another campus that uses Activity Insight?
While it is possible to export individual faculty data from another campus to import it into your implementation of Activity Insight, it is generally easier to reenter the data. Every client of Digital Measures stores different data within Activity Insight, which generally creates more work in determining how to handle for these differences than the work entailed in reentering the data.
Data Input Questions
Can a Mac be used for data entry?
Digital Measures, on a Mac, has considerably more functionality when used with the Firefox browser rather than the Safari browser.
How does a user input data?
Key User Notes:
- * denotes compulsory fields
- Save every screen where there has been an entry
- If you click on "return (cancel)" the item will not be saved
- If you have more items to add, click on "Save and add another"
How can the user copy and paste information?
Click on PasteBoard at the bottom of the screen to activate a feature that allows you to copy information from another document. Paste it into the pasteboard and then drag it into the appropriate area on the screen. It is not recommended to paste directly from another document into the screen's data fields, as sometimes certain characters get transformed during this process.
Can the PasteBoard copy instead of cut text?
By default, when you select text that is in the PasteBoard and then click on it and drag it, the text is cut rather than copied. To copy rather than cut text, simply hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard after you select the text but before you click on it to drag it.
How much data can the PasteBoard store?
All data stored in the PasteBoard is maintained using a standard web browser cookie. The maximum amount of data that can be stored in a single cookie is 4,000 bytes, so the PasteBoard can store up to 4,000 bytes of information. If you want to paste text that exceeds this limit, copy only specific sections of the text into the PasteBoard, work with the text, and then paste in additional text.
How can we add subscript, superscript, or other formatting to pasted text?
Activity Insight supports the following HTML tags for text formatting:
- <sub>for subscript</sub>
- <sup>for superscript</sup>
- <b>for bold</b>
- <i>for italics</i>
- <u>for underline</u>
How can the user create similar list items?
For many list items, one entry may resemble another one very closely (e.g. multiple presentations at yearly conferences, multiple publications in the same journal). You can quickly create a new item containing all of the information of an existing item by following the instructions below:
- Click the Copy icon. (The Copy icon is located to the right of the listing - two sheets of paper.)
- The details that show up are the details of the new item. Make any changes necessary (such as the journal's volume and issue number, the conference year, etc.)
- Click any of the Save buttons to store the copy with its modifications.
Does this system have spell-check?
Google Toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com), and Yahoo Toolbar (http://toolbar.yahoo.com), are two applications that have spell-check. These applications work with all of the websites you use, not just Digital Measures', allowing you to use the words you add to your custom dictionary with all sites you visit.
How do I save my data? How do I edit or delete data I have entered?
If you return to the main screen without saving your data, the changes made will be discarded.
When entering your data, you may notice that most of the screens will have an option that says "Add A New Item". You must choose that option to enter your data. To edit an old item that appears in the "Add A New Item" screen, click on the pencil icon. To delete an item, click on the trash can icon. If you choose to delete a record, you will be prompted about your decision. To save partial records and data, use the save option in the forms.
When you have completed a form, you have two options to save your data. If you click on the "Save and Return" button, your data will be saved and you will be returned to the "Add Item" screen. If you click on the "Save and Add Another" button, your information will be saved and the form will clear for input of another item. "Return (Cancel)" will take you to the "Add A New Item" screen if you are entering a record, or the Main Menu if you are filling out a form. The data you just entered will not be saved.
Does Digital Measures have data validation?
There is no type of data validation incorporated into Digital Measures. It is important that you double-check your data. The text boxes for input and for descriptions will allow you to input as many characters as you would like.
What about Dates?
For activities that are/were only on one day, leave the start date blank and specify the end date. For activities that you started but have not yet completed, specify the start date and leave the end date blank. Be sure to include information about the month and year of the particular activity, to ensure the information is included in the appropriate year's report. The particular day is optional - use the first (e.g.: 10/01/2009) if unsure.
What about punctuation?
Avoid entering quotation marks around publication titles and putting periods at the end of an entry.
Specific Questions
Where do you place information pertaining to completing comparative reviews for publishing companies?
Place this information under Intellectual Contribution/Other (in description, put Book Review). The title would be "Review of �." The questions regarding AACSB classification would then be answered.
Where in Digital Measures do you enter service as an article referee for a scholarly journal?
Enter this information as Service to the discipline or profession.
Where would a faculty member show the work they did to put together a Facebook group of former, current, and prospective students for networking within their industry?
Place this information under department service as if it were an ad hoc committee.
Where is pro bono consulting or service entered?
All consulting, whether pro bono or not, needs to be entered as Professional Activity.
What do you do if an article/manuscript is rejected and you plan to submit to another journal?
When a manuscript is rejected, change Current Status to Revising to Resubmit. Delete the journal name. When submitted to the new journal, enter the new journal's name. Change Current Status to Submitted, not Resubmitted, as this would give the appearance that the journal had already requested a revise and resubmit. If you are concerned about showing continued activity, such as pre-tenure, then such activity could be described in your cover letter that is part of the tenure notebook.
Reports
How are records included/excluded on reports based on their date?
Report results include or exclude certain records based on the date range selected when a report is run.
What are Custom Reports?
Custom Reports only include records that contain a "significant" date that falls between the dates selected for the start and end dates. Any date field on any record can be made "significant," which then allows that record to be included or excluded based on the date range that is selected when a report is run. While not advisable, reports can be configured to "ignore" the date range selected by the user when running a report. This enables the report to run for a specific start and end date, or to return all records.
Why are End Dates needed?
Any open-ended items you entered continue to appear until an end date is entered.
Can Digital Measures produce a vita?
Digital Measure produces an APA-style vita. Professional Service and Public Service entries without a date will not appear on the Vita_APA_1. For this version of a vita, items that are "Accepted" will not appear under the heading, "Published Intellectual Contributions" at this time. The vita can be opened as a Microsoft Word document. Be aware that any changes made in the Word version are NOT saved back to Digital Measures. The changes must also be made in Digital Measures.
What are Ad Hoc Reports?
Ad Hoc Reports allow the user some flexibility in creating a report. After selecting 'Run Ad Hoc Reports' from the Dashboard at left, the user is able to select the date range, which data to include, who to include, and the output file format. Ad Hoc Reports handle dates essentially the same way as Custom Reports. Just like Custom Reports, Ad Hoc Reports include all records where at least one significant date on a record falls between the start and end date selected when a report is run. To note, only those fields selected will be shown in the corresponding report. All significant dates will be evaluated based on the date range criteria selected regardless of the fields selected in Step 3 while using the Run Ad Hoc Reports utility. Just because a user does not select that certain date fields should be included on a report does not mean that those date fields are not evaluated against the date range selected.