After creating a new (empty) coding scheme, you can add variables to it. You do so in the codingschema editor.
Click on ‘Add field’ to add a new variable. Doubleclick on a cell, for example the cell ‘New Field (0)’ above, to change its contents. Press ‘tab’ to jump to the next cell in the table.
In the codingschema editor:
• Label is the label of the variable that coders see in the annotator, for example ‘Topic’.
• If a variable is Required, coders cannot finish coding the article in the Annotator without entering a value for this variable.
• Fieldtype is the type of variable. AmCAT uses the following variable types:
o Text: coders can enter text freely
o Number: coders can enter numbers freely
o Codebook: coders can choose from predefined answer categories
o Yes/no: this type of variable appears as a box that coders can tick or leave empty
o Quality: a numerical variable with the values -1, -0.5, 0, 0.5 and 1.
• Codebook has to be defined when the variable type is codebook. A codebook in AmCAT is a list of answer categories (learn how to create codebooks). In the codebook column, you select which codebook you use for this particular variable.
• Clicking on the red garbage bin icon removes a variable from the list.
• Save, and your codingschema is done. You can always edit a codingschema later. Schemas for article codings and for sentence codings are created in the same way.
AmCAT