SPSS – How to fix “Your license will expire in … days”?

I’m a pretty happy SPSS user but since a while, the software has been telling me that “Your license will expire in … days.” I had already extended my license with another year but -apparently- SPSS seemed to be oblivious to that. It took me some trial and error to troubleshoot the issue. Since I’m running this […]

SPSS Command Types

Summary SPSS commands come in three basic types: procedures, transformations and other commands. Understanding this distinction will allow you to get things done in SPSS faster and more efficiently. SPSS Command Types Diagram SPSS Transformations As shown in the figure, the first question is when a command is executed. Some SPSS commands are not carried out […]

SPSS Datasets

This tutorial explains what SPSS datasets are. For a practical tutorial on working with datasets, see SPSS Datasets Tutorial 1 – Basics. Right, now an SPSS dataset is SPSS data that only exists in your computer’s working memory (RAM). Changes you make to it are discarded unless it’s saved as a data file. SPSS Data File and Dataset […]

SPSS Sampling Basics

Summary How to draw one or many samples from your data in SPSS? This tutorial demonstrates some simple ways for doing so. We’ll point out some tips, tricks and pitfalls along the way. Let’s get started and create some test data by running the syntax below. SPSS Syntax for Creating Test Data *Create test data with […]

SPSS Datasets Tutorial 1 – Basics

Introduction SPSS dataset logic is not always logical. However, for working proficiently with datasets, just a handful of basics is sufficient. These are explained in this tutorial. This tutorial focuses on working with SPSS datasets. For a definition and some background on datasets, see SPSS Datasets. Working with SPSS Datasets It is recommended you follow along with the […]

Customizing SPSS

One of the many things we love about SPSS is how easily it’s customized and extended with powerful new features. For instance, creating your own toolbar is utterly simple and may save a lot of time and effort. With SPSS version 18, SPSS Extension Bundles were introduced: create completely new SPSS commands, build a menu dialog for them and easily share your […]

SPSS System Variables

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 […]

SPSS Data Preparation 6 – Inspect Cases

9. Missing Values per Case (Overview and data file are are found here) Missing values complicate some analyses or may sometimes indicate that respondents didn’t fill out the questionnaire very seriously. In any case, it’s a good idea to at least check how missing values are distributed over respondents and we often do so for sections […]

SPSS Custom Dialogs – Quick Introduction

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 […]

Overview SPSS Nonparametric Tests

SPSS nonparametric tests are mostly used when assumptions aren’t met for other tests such as ANOVA or t-tests.* Second, nonparametric tests are suitable for ordinal variables too. In rare cases they may have more statistical power than standard tests. Not sure which (nonparametric) test to use? You’ll quickly find the answer in Simple Overview Statistical Comparison Tests. Nonparametric Tests – One Sample SPSS Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test for […]