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Zeros in the Dependent Variable

How does the Joinpoint software deal with zeros in the dependent variable?

Answer:

It depends on the settings that are selected:

    • If all records for a cohort have zero counts, then the cohort is NOT processed.
    • If some of the records for a cohort have zero counts, then Joinpoint will add 0.5 to zero counts in the following scenarios:

Final - Zeros in the Dependent Chart Scenario

There must be one or more records in the cohort with a count greater than zero in order for Joinpoint to adjust zero counts within the cohort. When a session is executed, Joinpoint will scan the input file and notify users of any cohort that will have a count adjusted.  Users will have the option to cancel the job. If the session is executed, the output will display a message for each cohort that had one or more counts adjusted.

  • For all other situations, the cohort is NOT processed. In this case, a message will be displayed by Joinpoint and the executed job cancelled.

  

Practical remedy for zeros in data that prevent processing of a cohort:

  • Consider aggregating the data by combining some of the years in order to eliminate the zero values.
  • Example - aggregating the data could involve combining every two years of data or it could involve aggregating a particular two years to eliminate a particular zero in the data. 
  • As data are aggregated, the year values would have to be modified to reflect the aggregation.
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