Insights: The Art of Reporting

An Insights report is called a query. A query displays data within a workbook.

The reporting page includes the following components.

Data table

The data table displays the fields you add to the query.

By default:

• Dimensions appear on the left in black text.
• Measures appear on the right in green text.

Field picker

The field picker appears on the left side of the page. Use it to find and add dimensions and measures to your query.

Fields are organized into categories. Click a category to display its available dimensions and measures.

• Dimensions are descriptive fields used to identify or group records, such as Student Name, Major Name, or Employer Name.
• Measures are calculated values, such as a count, percentage, sum, or average.

Results, filters, and pivots

You can use dimensions and measures as results, filters, or pivots.

• Results determine which fields appear in the data table. Click the name of a dimension or measure to add it as a result.
• Filters limit the records included in the query. Point to a dimension or measure, move to the right, then click Filter.
• Pivots display dimension values horizontally with their associated counts. Point to a dimension, move to the right, then click Pivot.

To pivot on a dimension, include a measure, such as a count, in the data table.

The controls above the data table are available in the Results, Chart, and Both views.

• Options: Customize the query, including column height and width, totals, field display, and pivot options.
• Natural language filter: Enter a request in plain language for the AI Assistant to configure filters.
• Summarize results: Ask the AI Assistant to summarize the displayed results and identify key observations.
• Download results: Select a file name and format, apply formatting, and choose whether to download all rows or only the rows allowed by the current limit.
• Limits: Set the maximum number of rows returned by the query.
• Run query: Refresh the query after changing its fields, filters, or other settings.

Dimensions describe attributes of the records included in a query. The following examples explain how to locate or interpret dimensions used in common reports.

• Profile Completion: Profile completion counts and percentages are available in the Student Engagement Dashboard. To include profile completion information in a custom report, use the Students topic, then open the Profile Completion category in the field picker to access the available dimensions and measures.
• Registered compared with Checked In: Registered means the student registered for the fair or event. Checked In = Yes means the student checked in at the fair or event. If the event date has passed and a student is registered but not checked in, Handshake records the student as not having attended.

Measures calculate or summarize values in a query. Some measures can also combine multiple values into one result.

• Name List measures: Use a Name List measure when a student or other record can have more than one value and you want the record to appear only once.
  • For example, a student with two majors appears twice when Major Name is included as a result. If you use Major Name List instead, the student appears once and both majors are combined in a single cell.

Every dimension and measure within a topic can be used as a filter.

How do I select filter values?

When using is equal to or is not equal to, click the filter’s text field to display the available values.

How do I filter by institution label?

Institution labels are labels created and applied to records by your institution.

To include or exclude specific institution labels:

1. Add the institution_labels_name dimension as a filter.
2. Select is equal to to include specific labels or is not equal to to exclude them.
3. Select or enter the applicable label names.
4. Run the query.

How do AND and OR filters work?

Within a single filter containing multiple values, Insights uses OR logic.

For example:

Major Name is equal to Business Administration OR Business Analytics OR Economics.

Across two or more separate filters, Insights uses AND logic.

For example, if a query includes a Major Name filter and a School Year Name filter, a student must match:

• One of the selected majors
• One of the selected school years

This is the default filter behavior.

Custom filters can apply different logic, but they are limited to dimensions and measures available in the selected topic. A custom filter cannot add data from another topic.

Custom filters can also be used with institution labels. Label values are treated similarly to major values.

For custom filter syntax, review Looker Expressions: Functions and Operators.

How do I exclude a value from a field that can repeat?

For a field that allows only one value per student, does not equal excludes the matching student record as expected.

For a field that can contain multiple values, such as Institution Label Name or Major Name, does not equal excludes only the matching value. The student may still appear because another value remains associated with the student.

For example, if a student has several institution labels, excluding one label does not automatically exclude the student’s other label records.

To exclude any student whose profile contains a specific value:

1. Add the List version of the field, such as Label Name List.
2. Add that field as a filter.
3. Select doesn’t contain.
4. Enter the value you want to exclude.
5. Run the query.

Because the List field combines the student’s values, the filter evaluates all applicable values together.

Can I paste a large list of filter values?

You can copy values from one report and paste them into a filter in another report. There is no set limit to the number of values you can paste, but larger lists can reduce browser performance.

If you paste hundreds of values, the browser may ask whether you want to close the page or wait. You may need to select Wait more than once.

For better performance:

1. Divide the original report into smaller groups.
2. Copy fewer values at a time.
3. Paste each group into the applicable filter.

How do I filter by distance from a location?

Add the Lat_long dimension as a filter and use the following format:

100 miles from 41.8781136, -87.6297982

Replace the distance and coordinates with the values for your intended location.

Results are the fields selected for display in the data table. The following guidance explains how to sort, interpret, and combine report results.

Note: Insights can only report on data that already exists in Handshake.

• Sort results: To sort results alphabetically or numerically, click a column header. Click the header again to switch between ascending and descending order.
• Results with zero values: If a report returns zero values, confirm that you selected a topic containing the records you want to include. A topic can only return records that exist within its underlying dataset.
  • For example, to identify employers that have never posted a job, use the Employers topic instead of the Jobs topic. The Jobs topic starts with job records, so an employer without a job posting cannot appear in the results. In the Employers topic, filter the posting_count measure to values less than 1 to include employers without job postings.
• Results with null values: Null values can appear for different reasons depending on the report.
  • Education records: If you report on student education records without filtering for primary education, the query may include secondary education records. If a student lists a high school as a secondary education record, fields that apply to a Handshake institution may return null for that record.
  • Employer approval date: The employer approval date may be null if the employer was not approved through the standard employer approval process. In this situation, Insights may not have a recognized approval date to return.
  • Document Reviewer ID: Insights may not provide a Document Reviewer ID for every reviewer. Use the available Document Review Staff fields instead.
• Combine results from different topics: Handshake stores data under the feature area where it was created, so one topic may not contain every field required for a report.
  • For example, job types are stored in the Jobs topic, while on-campus interview data is stored in the Interview Schedules topic. To report on job types associated with on-campus interviews:
    1. Create a query using the Jobs topic and include job_id as a result.
    2. Create another query using the Interview Schedules topic and include job_id as a result.
    3. Download both reports.
    4. Merge the datasets in a spreadsheet by matching their job_id values with XLOOKUP or VLOOKUP.
  • The Insights AI Assistant can also help create an XLOOKUP in an existing workbook. Confirm that the lookup fields and returned values are correct before using the combined results. Learn more in How to Use AI in Insights.

After you save a workbook or dashboard, additional options appear at the top of the page.

When you modify a saved workbook, it enters Draft mode. Click Draft in the upper-left corner to access the following options:

• Publish: Save and publish the changes made in Draft mode.
• Explore: Create an unsaved copy that you can modify without changing the saved workbook.
• Save as: Update the workbook’s title, description, or folder location.

Follow these practices when building reports:

• Run one query at a time.
• Start with a small, simple query and add fields or calculations gradually.
• Aim for queries that return results within a few seconds.
• If a query takes longer, remove unnecessary fields or simplify the query.
• Add filters to reduce the number of records being processed.
• Download the results to a spreadsheet when you need processing that Insights cannot perform directly.

Insights data updates nightly. Changes made in Handshake today, whether manually or through Importer, appear in Insights the next day. The nightly update begins around midnight Pacific time.