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Using Split By in Concept Lab

The Split By feature in Concept Lab allows you to segment your concept results by respondent characteristics, including built in audience traits and custom Virtual Questions (VQs). This makes it easy to compare how different groups respond to each concept without running separate analyses.

How it Works

Once your Concept Lab has been loaded with concepts and finished running the comparisons, you can further segment your results by using the Split By drop-down menu:

  1. Click the Split By drop-down menu located above your concept attributes on the Stats page. The dropdown includes all available audience traits for your survey's country, plus any eligible Virtual Questions (VQs). 
    Note: Only Single‑Choice Virtual Questions are supported for Split By. Virtual Questions with overlapping answer options or those configured as Multiple Choice will not appear as available Split By options in the Concept Lab.
  2. Select the trait or eligible VQ you'd like to split by. The concept Lab will automatically reload, displaying each concept broken out by the selected segment. 

Helpful Hint: Simply select a different variable from the Split By dropdown to re-run the split without starting over.

 

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Using Virtual Questions with Split By

In addition to built-in audience traits, you can split your Concept Lab results by custom Virtual Questions, for example, a custom age range you've defined in your survey. However, not all Virtual Questions will appear in the Split By drop down. There is one key requirement:

  • Only Single Choice Virtual Questions are supported: A Virtual Question will only appear in the Split By dropdown if it is set to Single Choice with mutually exclusive options (i.e., a respondent can only belong to once segment at a time. 

    2026-02-19_14-21-21.png
     

Virtual Questions that will appear in Split By:

  • Single Choice VQs with non-overlapping, mutually exclusive options.
    • For example: A custom generational age range, where each respondent falls into one group, such as  (Gen Z / Millennial / Gen X / Boomer) 

Virtual Questions that will NOT appear in Split By:

  • Multiple Choice VQs (Even if the options do not overlap.)
  • Matrix Single Choice VQs
  • Open Ended VQs
  • Any VQ where respondents could belong to more than one option.

 

Helpful Hint: Have a VQ set to Multiple Choice? You can edit it and switch it to Single Choice—provided the answer options are mutually exclusive. After saving the change, the VQ will appear in your Split By options.
 

 

Troubleshooting

If your Virtual Question isn't appearing in the Split By dropdown, check for any of these common troubleshooting tips:

Is the VQ set to single choice?

If your VQ is currently set to Multiple Choice, you can edit it and switch it to Single Choice—as long as the answer options are truly mutually exclusive.

  1. Open the VQ editor.
  2. Adjust any overlapping answer options.
  3. Click the Multiple Choice dropdown and select Single Choice.
  4. Click Update visualization.

Your VQ should now appear in the Split By dropdown.

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Are the VQ options mutually Exclusive?

Each respondent must only be able to fall into one option. If options overlap, the VQ cannot be used for Split By.

Has the VQ been fully generated?

Make sure the VQ has finished generating before attempting to use it in Concept Lab.

Did you refresh the page after creating the VQ?

Just like us, sometimes our computer needs to catch a breath! New VQs may not appear immediately. If this happens, try refreshing the Stats page to force the Split By menu to update.

 

If you have any additional questions please reach out to support@aytm.com or click the chat bubble at the bottom right to start a conversation. We look forward to hearing from you!