Summary SPSS Extension Bundles are extra program features that you can add to SPSS. Like so, you can add data editing routines, statistical procedures or other features that the program does not include by default. Most extensions are freely downloadable. You can also write and distribute your own Extension Bundles but doing so is reasonably […]
Summary In SPSS, TEMPORARY indicates that the commands that follow are temporary. Temporary commands will be undone (reversed) when a command is run that reads the data. Such a command also indicates that the commands that follow are not temporary anymore. Temporary commands between TEMPORARY and a command that reads the data. SPSS Temporary Example “We’d like to dichotomize […]
SPSS doesn’t offer an easy way to set decimal places for output tables. This tutorial proposes a very simple tool for setting decimal places in basic output tables after they’ve been produced. It works best for simple tables such as DESCRIPTIVES, MEANS or CROSSTABS. Setting Decimal Places for Output Tables First, make sure that the SPSS Python Essentials are installed and […]
Summary SPSS uses a handful of hidden variables for keeping track of things. These so called system variables have names starting with “$” and can be useful in some cases. The most important one is $casenum, the number shown next to each case in the data editor window. SPSS $casenum SPSS $casenum In the left outline of the […]
Most of this tutorial aims at getting you started fast and smoothly with SPSS syntax. But before doing so, let’s briefly point out some major reasons why working from syntax is the single best practice for SPSS.* SPSS Syntax – Some Advantages Your syntax file tells you exactly what you’ve done so far with your data. It holds all details of […]
SPSS custom dialogs are extensions of SPSS’ point-click menu, officially known as the GUI (“graphical user interface”). SPSS Custom Dialogs in Menu Custom dialogs are kept in files with the .spd file extension. After installing a custom dialog file, it will appear in the menu just like an SPSS’ built-in command. The difference, however, is […]
Introduction SPSS ships with a manual called “Command Syntax Reference” (or CSR). Whenever you don’t know or understand something, this should usually be the first place to look. SPSS Command Syntax Reference SPSS comes with a syntax reference manual explaining all existing commands. This book (in .pdf format) is called the “Command Syntax Reference” and is mostly […]
Summary SPSS RANK can be used to create a variable holding the rank numbers of the values of some other variable. RANK is also used for discretizing continuous variables into ntile groups. This tutorial walks you through the main options along with some real world examples. Result of first RANK syntax example 1. SPSS Rank Basic Example Running the syntax below first creates […]
While working in SPSS, it’s pretty common to reorder your variables. This tutorial shows how to do so the right way. We encourage you try the examples for yourself by downloading and opening hotel_evaluation.sav, a screenshot of which is shown below. SPSS Reorder Variables Example 1 Right, the most common way for reordering variables in SPSS […]
Introduction An escape sequence is a combination of characters that has a special meaning. Escape Sequences in General Some characters imply a special function rather than their “normal” meaning. For example, ‘ often implies the start or the end of a string. But what if you actually mean ‘ rather than a string? In that case you can escape its default meaning by prefixing […]
SPSS ALTER TYPE command is mainly used for converting string variables to numeric variables. However, it has other interesting applications as well. This tutorial quickly walks you through those, pointing out some pitfalls, tips and tricks along the way. You can follow along by downloading and opening holidays.sav but you do need SPSS version 16 or higher for using ALTER […]
Concatenating two or more strings is creating a new string consisting of the characters of the first string followed by the characters of the subsequent string(s) in their original order. SPSS CONCAT Function Concatenating in SPSS is done by the CONCAT function. The most basic usage is COMPUTE A = CONCAT(B,C,D). Note that you can concatenate only strings. For concatenating numbers, […]
A substring is a subset of characters from a string. Extracting substrings in SPSS is done with CHAR.SUBSTR (SPSS versions 16+) or just SUBSTR (SPSS versions 15-). CHAR.SUBSTR takes two or three arguments as shown by the minimal example below. SPSS CHAR.SUBSTR – Minimal Example COMPUTE var_2 = CHAR.SUBSTR(var_1,3,2). The three arguments mean the following: var_1 denotes the variable […]
A sampling distribution is the frequency distribution of a statistic over many random samples from a single population.Sampling distributions are at the very core of inferential statistics but poorly explained by most standard textbooks. The reasoning may take a minute to sink in but when it does, you’ll truly understand common statistical procedures such as ANOVA or a chi-square test. […]
Introduction Popular statistical procedures such as ANOVA, a chi-square test or a t-test quietly rely on the assumption that your data are a simple random sample from your population. Violation of this assumption may result in biased or even nonsensical test results and few researchers seem to be aware of this. Plenty of reasons for a brief discussion of simple […]
A histogram is a chart that shows frequencies for equal width intervals of values of a metric variable. Histogram – Example A company wants to know how monthly salaries are distributed over 1,110 employees having operational, middle or higher management level jobs. The screenshot below shows what their raw data look like. Since these salaries […]
Most of us start working with SPSS from its point-click menu. Doing so without pasting and saving all syntax may seem obvious at first but often turns out to be a pitfall. Using SPSS syntax may seem a bit difficult at first but often turns out to save tons of time and effort in the end. This tutorial explains […]
Summary A previous tutorial covered assembling your own toolbar. This will become even more interesting if you add your own toolbar tools to it. This tutorial quickly walks you through and suggests some best practices. 1. Create a Folder with Syntax and Images Setting Up your SPSS Toolbar Tools Like so may Speed Things Up […]
Summary Toolbars can be very useful in SPSS. They allow users to do a lot of stuff with a single mouse click. However, some users may feel there’s some limitations to their default configuration. An ideal way to get around these is to assemble your own toolbar. Some limitations of standard toolbars Most users will […]
SPSS chart templates are files that tell SPSS how to style charts in the Output Viewer window. SPSS chart templates are easy to use and make your SPSS output look very professional. SPSS chart templates are files that tell SPSS how to style one, many or all charts that appear in the output viewer window. Examples […]
