Your Qualtrics export has a column called major with a value like Economics. When you write up the methodology table, what does the formatted entry look like?
Something like "Major: Economics" — the field label, a colon, then the value. I type that by hand into the table every time.
In Python, you stop typing it by hand. field = "Major" is a variable — a label you assign once. value = "Economics" is another. An f-string combines them:
field = "Major"
value = "Economics"
label = f"{field}: {value}"
print(label) # Major: EconomicsOne = is assignment. You're not asking whether field equals "Major" — you're giving "Major" the name field.
Wait — so field = "Major" doesn't mean they're equal in the math sense? It's more like writing a label on a survey form?
Exactly. A field on your Qualtrics form has a name and holds a response. field = "Major" is the same relationship — the name field now holds the string "Major". When you need it later you just write field and Python gives you "Major" back. That's the whole idea:
def format_response(field: str, value: str) -> str:
result = f"{field}: {value}"
print(f"Formatted: {result}")
return result
So I can call format_response("Major", "Economics") and get "Major: Economics" — and the same function works for any field in the survey?
Any field, any value, same function. Your methods table entries write themselves.
I've been typing these by hand for months. One function handles every row in the dataset.
That's the shift. Variables are not just shortcuts — they're the reason you can write one formula and run it on 500 responses without touching a single cell. Forget the f prefix and every {field} prints as the literal characters {field}. Silent bug, no error, wrong output in your table.
A variable is a label attached to a value. field = "Major" creates a str; Python infers the type automatically — no declaration needed.
Prefix a string with f and embed variable names inside {}:
f"{field}: {value}" # → "Major: Economics"| Operator | Meaning |
|---|---|
= | Assign a value to a name |
== | Test whether two values are equal |
Forget the f prefix and "{field}: {value}" prints literally — {field}: {value}. No error, wrong output. Always check the f.
Your Qualtrics export has a column called major with a value like Economics. When you write up the methodology table, what does the formatted entry look like?
Something like "Major: Economics" — the field label, a colon, then the value. I type that by hand into the table every time.
In Python, you stop typing it by hand. field = "Major" is a variable — a label you assign once. value = "Economics" is another. An f-string combines them:
field = "Major"
value = "Economics"
label = f"{field}: {value}"
print(label) # Major: EconomicsOne = is assignment. You're not asking whether field equals "Major" — you're giving "Major" the name field.
Wait — so field = "Major" doesn't mean they're equal in the math sense? It's more like writing a label on a survey form?
Exactly. A field on your Qualtrics form has a name and holds a response. field = "Major" is the same relationship — the name field now holds the string "Major". When you need it later you just write field and Python gives you "Major" back. That's the whole idea:
def format_response(field: str, value: str) -> str:
result = f"{field}: {value}"
print(f"Formatted: {result}")
return resultSo I can call format_response("Major", "Economics") and get "Major: Economics" — and the same function works for any field in the survey?
Any field, any value, same function. Your methods table entries write themselves.
I've been typing these by hand for months. One function handles every row in the dataset.
That's the shift. Variables are not just shortcuts — they're the reason you can write one formula and run it on 500 responses without touching a single cell. Forget the f prefix and every {field} prints as the literal characters {field}. Silent bug, no error, wrong output in your table.
A variable is a label attached to a value. field = "Major" creates a str; Python infers the type automatically — no declaration needed.
Prefix a string with f and embed variable names inside {}:
f"{field}: {value}" # → "Major: Economics"| Operator | Meaning |
|---|---|
= | Assign a value to a name |
== | Test whether two values are equal |
Forget the f prefix and "{field}: {value}" prints literally — {field}: {value}. No error, wrong output. Always check the f.
You are building a Python script to format her Qualtrics survey export for her methodology table. Write `format_response(field, value)` that returns a string like `"Major: Economics"` using an f-string. For example, `format_response("Major", "Economics")` should return `"Major: Economics"`.
Tap each step for scaffolded hints.
No blank-editor panic.