Explore results with Data Explorer

Use Data Explorer to query Lab Results ad hoc, screen them against your criteria, read them in a flat grid, click through to the source record, and export the filtered view. This guide covers the happy path from an empty page to an exported file.

Before you start

• Prerequisites: You can only see results for Projects and Sites you are authorized to view. Committed Lab Results must already exist for the scope you query.

Steps

1. Go to Data Analysis → Data Explorer. The page opens on its empty state ("Pick a project or site, then choose locations and analytes to explore your data.").

2. Select Open Filters to open the Analysis Filters panel.

3. Set the Scope. Projects and sites are many-to-many, so you pick one axis to scope by. Use the Scope by toggle to choose Sites (the default) or Projects, then pick one or more in the dropdown below. Only sites or projects with committed lab results are listed.

   To narrow within that scope, use the Refine axis — the other one. Scoping by Sites adds a Projects refine listing the projects that have data at your sites; scoping by Projects adds a Sites refine. Leave the refine empty to include everything in the primary scope. Because the refine only lists options that share data with your primary scope, you can't create an empty, unanalyzable combination.

   Example: for all data at one site regardless of project, scope by Sites, pick the site, and leave the Projects refine empty. For one project narrowed to two of its sites, scope by Projects, pick the project, then pick those two sites in the Sites refine.

4. Narrow the Data filters. Locations and Analytes are both required (marked with a *) and start empty — a fresh scope selects nothing, so you choose what to include rather than the tool pulling every result at once. Pick at least one of each, or use Select all in scope in the Data section header to select all locations and analytes in one click.

   Field	What to enter
   Locations	One or more Locations (required).
   Analytes	One or more Analytes (required).
   Matrices	Limit to a Matrix, or leave All matrices.
   Lab Reports	Limit to specific Lab Reports, or leave All lab reports.
   Tasks, Site Areas	Optionally refine to specific project Tasks or Site Areas.

5. (Optional) Limit by Date Range. Enter a Start Date and End Date; both compare against the sample date.

6. (Optional) Apply screening. In the Data section, set the Screening field to one or more Screening Criteria Sets. Two checkboxes refine how screening runs:

   Checkbox	Effect
   Screen all matrices	Widens matrix matching when comparing results to criteria.
   Screen non-detect results	Screens non-detects against the plan's preferred limit (detection or reporting limit), or a reported EMPC where it applies.

   Only Normal and Field Duplicate sample types, plus calculated (summed) rows, are screenable; all other sample types — including Split, blanks, and lab QC — are never screened.

7. (Optional, Data Explorer only) Under Include in Results, add data that is excluded by default:

   Checkbox	Includes
   QC data	Lab QC analyses with no field sample.
   TICs (Tentatively Identified Compounds)	Tentatively identified compounds (no analyte assigned).
   Rejected results	Validator-rejected results and results from rejected reports.

   These three options live only on Data Explorer. Crosstab and Map cannot include TICs, rejected, or QC data.

8. (Optional) Under Display, the Show source rows alongside aggregated duplicates checkbox is selected by default. Each duplicate's source rows stay visible next to the aggregated (reportable) row, so you can audit what fed the aggregate. Clear it to show only the aggregated row.

9. Select Generate. Generate is enabled only once a scope, at least one Location, and at least one Analyte are selected. The grid loads ("Loading data...") and a filter summary bar appears at the top.

The Data Management Plan (DMP) tied to the selected projects is applied automatically — it drives unit conversion, duplicate aggregation, summation, and non-detect presentation (see Data Analysis & Screening). If the selected projects do not all share a single DMP — whether they reference different DMPs, or some have a DMP and others have none — DMP rules are skipped and a notice is shown.

Result

The grid shows one row per lab result. The default view includes Project, Site, Location, Sample, Date, Matrix, Analyte, Result, Result Value, Unit, MDL, MRL, and Detected, plus sample, lab-report, analysis-method, and qualifier columns. More columns (depth, coordinates, QC) are hidden by default and available through the grid's column chooser. Your column layout is saved in your browser, so it persists on this device between visits.

Two result columns sit side by side:

• Result — the presentation string with significant figures and non-detect notation (for example < 0.05 or ND).
• Result Value — the numeric working value used for sorting, filtering, and math (non-detects carry their detection limit).

note

The Result and Result Value columns show the effective working value, matching the Crosstab, Map, and Time Series tools. For a detected result that carries only an EMPC, that working value is the EMPC (rather than blank), while the lab's reported EMPC also stays in its own EMPC Value column for reference.

Data Explorer is the audit grid for qualifiers. It carries three qualifier columns: a raw Lab Qualifier (the code the laboratory reported, verbatim — often a noisy internal lab code), a Validated Qualifier (what a reviewer recorded), and the effective Qualifier used everywhere else. The other analysis surfaces show the validated qualifier only; the raw lab codes stay visible here for anyone who needs to reconcile against them.

When you applied screening, each set adds a {Set} Limit column and a {Set} Status column (Exceeds, Within Limits, or blank), and a final Screening column carries the overall per-row outcome (Exceeds, Within Limits, Unscreenable, or Not Applicable).

Focus the grid

A Hide filters toggle sits just above the grid. Select it to collapse the page title, the filter summary, and any warnings so the grid fills the full height — useful on a smaller screen, where the panels above can leave little room for rows. Select Show filters to bring them back. The grid stays a fixed height and scrolls internally, so it doesn't shrink or grow as you filter.

Open a record

Select any row to open the Result Detail panel. It opens a summation breakdown for a calculated row, an aggregation breakdown for a duplicate-aggregated row, or the single lab result otherwise. The panel's Details tab groups the record into Location, Sample, Analysis, and Result sections, each with an external-link icon (its tooltip reads "Go to location", "Go to sample", "Go to analysis", or "Go to result") that navigates to the source record. A Validation section also appears when the result has been validated, and a QC section appears when QC data is present. A Comments tab lets you read and add comments on the underlying Lab Result; calculated and aggregated rows have no comments of their own, so open an individual component or source row instead.

Trace a computed value

A summed or aggregated row is not a black box: the same Result Detail panel shows which inputs produced it and under which rules. Select the calculated or aggregated row — in this grid or a Crosstab cell — to open the breakdown.

A summed (Calculated) row opens with a Summation Rule section — the rule's target analyte, its SummationType, the non-detect and all-non-detect handling, any minimum-detected-percentage threshold and its fallback, and a components used of expected count — followed by a Components list. Each component analyte shows whether it was used, skipped, or not found, its multiplication factor and detection limit, and the value it contributed to the total: a non-detect shows its substituted value, and a component skipped for a missing value or limit shows the reason. Read top to bottom, the contributions reconcile to the reported total, and every excluded component is called out. When a rule matched components under more than one method, each method's sum is listed, with the one shown in the crosstab badged.

An aggregated (duplicate) row opens with a Duplicate Aggregation section — the method (Average, Maximum, …), the order (before or after summation), the non-detect handling, the primary sample, and the replicate count — followed by a Source Rows list. The primary and each field duplicate show their raw value, limits, qualifier, and what each contributed, so you can see how the replicates reduced to one value and which row was selected when a sample carried more than one result.

Because a calculated or aggregated row has no lab result of its own, its Comments tab points you to an individual component or source row to comment on the underlying data. When an effective value came from an EMPC, the panel shows the lab's EMPC value and notes that the effective result uses the estimate.

Export the view

Select Export in the grid toolbar, then choose Export to XLSX or Export to CSV. The export honors the grid's current view: any column filter, search, or sort you have applied carries through to the file. Files are named DataExplorer_yyyyMMdd. Numeric columns export as numbers, so values stay calculable in the exported file.

info

Each query returns at most 10,000 rows. Over that cap, results are truncated and a notice tells you to narrow your filters.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Resolution
Generate stays disabled	No scope, or no Location or Analyte selected.	Select a project or site, then at least one location and one analyte — the panel names the missing item next to the disabled button. Or use Select all in scope to include everything.
A project or site you expected isn't in the Scope list	The scope dropdowns list only projects and sites that have committed lab results.	Confirm lab results have been committed for it; scopes with nothing to analyze are hidden.
"No results found for the selected criteria."	Filters exclude all rows, or the data is rejected/QC/TIC and excluded by default.	Widen the date range or scope; under Include in Results, enable QC data, TICs, or Rejected results if relevant.
Non-detects show no screening outcome	Screen non-detect results is off.	Open the filters and select Screen non-detect results.
A row reads Unscreenable	The applicable criterion couldn't be compared to the result.	Filter the Screening column to Unscreenable to isolate these rows; check the screening notices for the limit-fallback count.
DMP rules don't seem to apply	The selected projects do not all share one DMP (different DMPs, or some projects have none).	Query one DMP's projects at a time; a notice flags the inconsistency.
Results are truncated	The query returned more than 10,000 rows.	Add filters (location, analyte, date) to narrow the query.

Related

• Crosstab
• Maps
• Data Analysis & Screening overview
• Lab analyses and results