Building a Report for a Recurring Tracking Study¶
A report built for a single survey answers "what did this wave find." A tracking study needs a report that answers "how has this moved over time" - which means designing it differently from the start, not just rebuilding a one-off report each wave.
Start with Combined Survey, Not a Single-Survey Report¶
Rather than building a fresh report for each new wave, set up Combined Survey (see Cross-Tabs and Combined Survey Analysis in Reporting) to bring your waves together, and build your tracking widgets against that combined view. This lets each new wave's data flow into the same report automatically once linked, instead of requiring a rebuild.
Choose Chart Types Built for Trends¶
A line chart is usually the clearest way to show a metric moving across waves - see Choosing the Right Widget for Your Report. A bar chart works for a single wave's snapshot but doesn't read as naturally as a trend once you're comparing several points over time.
Keep the Question and Categories Locked¶
A tracking report is only as good as the consistency behind it - see Comparing Results Across Survey Waves: A Methodology Guide for keeping question wording consistent, and Comparing Category Sets Across Two Survey Waves if you're tracking Text Analytics themes over time. Design decisions made once at the start of a tracking series are much easier to maintain than fixes applied after wording or categories have already drifted.
Design for the Update Cadence, Not Just the Current Wave¶
Since a tracking report will be revisited repeatedly rather than viewed once and set aside, favor a layout that stays readable as more waves get added - a line chart naturally accommodates new data points, while a widget built around a fixed number of comparison bars may need rework as your wave count grows.
Separate "This Wave" From "The Trend"¶
A useful pattern is a report with two parts: a section summarizing the current wave's results on their own, and a separate section showing the trend across all waves. This gives a reader both the immediate snapshot and the longer-term context in one place, without forcing every widget to try to do both jobs at once.
FAQ¶
Do I need to rebuild the report each time a new wave completes?
No - once your widgets are built against a Combined Survey view, linking a new wave into that view brings its data into the existing report automatically.
Can I share a tracking report the same way as a one-off report?
Yes - see Sharing a Report Publicly. The sharing mechanism works the same regardless of whether the report is built around a single survey or a Combined Survey view.
How many waves can a single tracking report handle?
There's no fixed cap on how many surveys you bring into a Combined Survey view - see Cross-Tabs and Combined Survey Analysis in Reporting.
Does exporting a tracking report to PowerPoint work the same way?
Yes - see Exporting Your Report to PowerPoint. The export captures the report's current state, trend charts included, the same as any other report.
For more on the underlying methodology of keeping waves comparable, see Comparing Results Across Survey Waves: A Methodology Guide.