- Importing Sequences
- Exporting an Analysis
- Importing Previous Analyses
- Generalized Models
You can create a sequence of events in a spreadsheet
and then import the sequence into Ethno
for analyses.
Once you have analyzed events, you can save the Ethno
project
by copying and pasting text.
The saved text may be reloaded to continue analyses at another time.
You can import a list of events
consisting of short names, plus optionally: a sentence-long event
description, a quote from an archival source, your own comment, and
entries in the
eight event-frame categories (agent, act, object, instrument,
alignment,
setting, product, and beneficiary), in
that order. The twelve fields must be separated by tabs. Event frame
categories may contain
multiple percepts, separated by ", ".
The easiest way to build a sequence for input is with a spreadsheet
formatted as follows.
- Each line must relate to just one
event.
- The line must begin with the short name of the event. (Any
short name longer than 25 characters will produce a warning when you
import the sequence.)
- Optionally, the short name may be followed by texts for the
other fields. However, any field other than the short name may be left
blank.
- Repeated events must be entered by entering just the short name
(optionally with a different source text than the first appearance of
the event).
- Event-frame entries must be prefixed with tags to specify their
type. "E: " is the tag for entities; "P: " is the tag for people; "A: "
is the tag for acts.
To import the sequence into Ethno:
- Select the spreadsheet cells containing your data, and copy the
text to the computer clipboard. For example, to import the two events
shown above, select cells A2 through L3, and press the keys for copying.
- In the ESA program, choose Import-Export from the Operations
pop-up menu.
- Click the Clear Text button to clear the text
box
on the display.
- Paste the clipboard text into the text
box by pressing keys for pasting.
- Click the Import Sequence button. If the
sequence
of events was prepared correctly, it will be replaced by a message
reporting that the data were imported successfully.
After importing a sequence in this way, you may select an event
in
the Events
menu to go to the display for that event. The display will show the
event's
short name, plus its longer description, the source text, and the
comment, if these were included. Entities, people and acts will be
properly assigned in the event frame, and the elements will be
incorporated into the menus for entities, people and acts.
The
sequence may be
edited by selecting Define Sequence on the Operations
menu. The
events may be linked by selecting Link Events on the Operations
menu.
A Java applet cannot write a file on your computer for the sake
of
security. However, Ethno
provides a procedure for saving your work. Use
it
frequently!
Choose Import-Export from the Operations
pop-up menu.
The display comes up with the text box filled.
- The text in the box is the program's record of your work -
the source text describing the episode, your
definitions of events, of linkages between events, of event
compositions in terms of your defined entities, persons and actions,
and a reocrd of each of your decisions linking one event to another.
Click the Select Text buttton to select everything
in the text box.
Press keys to copy the selected text to the computer
clipboard.
Paste the text into an open document in a text processor, and
save
the file for future use with an XML suffix - e.g., "myStudy.xml". A
simple text processor (like NoteTab in
Windows) is best in order to avoid embedded formatting codes for fonts,
margins, etc.
Caution!
The program
formats the text so that Ethno
can read it. The
export-import procedure will fail if the data get corrupted.
Most internet browsers will display an XML file with helpful
formatting if you click the file's name or icon. The display provides a
record of all inormation involved in your study. Here is an example of an XML file
archiving an Ethno study.
Use a text processor to load an XML file that
you
saved previously. (Ethno also
can read data files produced by the program before the conversion to
XML format.)
Copy the text to the computer clipboard.
In Ethno , choose Import-Export from the Operations
pop-up menu.
Click the Clear Text button to clear the text box
on
the display.
Press keys to paste the clipboard text into
the text
box.
Click the Restore Study button. If the exported
record of the study was uncorrupted, it will be
replaced by a message reporting that the data were imported
successfully.
After restoring an analysis in this way, all screens look the same as
when you
exported the analysis.
The first stage of a prerequisite analysis produces a model
showing
how
concrete events are linked one to another (see the Help messages on Linking
and Chart for more details). After you have completed such a
model, you
can add a generalized model showing how the concrete events instantiate
more
general events (see the Chart help for details).
A new entry, Export abstract, appears on the Operations
menu
after you have specified generalized events and linked them. Select
this option
to export the generalized model alone.
Sometime later when you are working on a different concrete model,
you can
add the previously-defined generalized model. Import the generalized
model as
usual, except click the Append Study button as the last
step. You
then will be able to instantiate the generalized events with the
different concrete
events in your later study, as described in Chart help.
URL:
www.indiana.edu/~socpsy/ESA/Import-Export.html