[Feature Request]: Visual binning

[zmirasilman]

Description

Recode using visual binning - similar to SPSS,

Purpose

categorize a continuous variable into groups by different approaches, percentiles, mean+-SD

Use-case

can serve to convert continuous variable to categorical, can add directly the labels

Is your feature request related to a problem?

several analyses are have clinical relevance as categorical

Is your feature request related to a JASP module?

Descriptives

Describe the solution you would like

No response

Describe alternatives that you have considered

simple recode old values into new values

Additional context

Dear JASP Team,

One of the most practical features in SPSS is the Visual Binning option, which allows users to transform continuous variables into categorical groups based on an interactive visualization of the variable’s distribution. Unfortunately, this functionality is not currently available in JASP.

Adding a similar visual binning tool to JASP would provide several benefits:

Data exploration & teaching – Users (especially students and clinicians) can see how different cutoffs affect the distribution of cases across categories, making categorization decisions transparent and educational.

Ease of use – Non-programmers could easily create meaningful categories without resorting to external software or coding.

Better decisions – By directly viewing the data distribution, users avoid unbalanced or arbitrary splits, improving the validity of subsequent analyses.

Consistency with JASP’s philosophy – A graphical, interactive approach fits well with JASP’s user-friendly, accessible design.

This feature would be extremely valuable for both teaching and applied research, and I believe it would significantly enhance JASP’s data management capabilities.

Thank you for considering this request!

Best regards,
Zmira Silman
Biostatistician & Lecturer

[EJWagenmakers]

I agree this would be good to do, but we have to be careful where we add this functionality. It feels like a "compute new column" action, but maybe we should have a separate GUI for this, somewhere in Descriptives perhaps. Maybe we ought to look how SPSS does this.

[zmirasilman]

Dear JASP Team, Thank you for the prompt response. In SPSS there are several GUIs for data transformation, and I think *Visual Binning* is one of the most useful. The combination of graphical representation of cutoffs on the histogram together with automatic labeling makes it very practical for both teaching and applied analysis. Unfortunately, this option is not yet available in JASP. I am planning to teach my course (for physicians in the MPA program at Tel Aviv University) with JASP instead of SPSS. Having a visual binning tool in JASP would greatly support this transition, as it helps students understand and apply categorization of continuous variables in an intuitive way. In addition, if there are any teaching materials oriented toward biostatistics, I would be very happy to use them in my course. Thank you for considering this request, and for the wonderful work you are doing with JASP. Best regards, Zmira Silman ------------------------------------ Zmira Silman Biostatistical consulting https://www.dibiz.com/zmiras Mobile: 052-2369239

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On Mon, Aug 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM EJ ***@***.***> wrote: *EJWagenmakers* left a comment (jasp-stats/jasp-issues#3628) <#3628 (comment)> I agree this would be good to do, but we have to be careful where we add this functionality. It feels like a "compute new column" action, but maybe we should have a separate GUI for this, somewhere in Descriptives perhaps. Maybe we ought to look how SPSS does this. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3628 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJ442DD5GSFQVWRVWEFZZM33PMLFZAVCNFSM6AAAAACEXV536OVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTEMRQGQ4DKNRXGI> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>