Data Analysis Using IBM SPSS: Use and Interpretation

SPSS means “Statistical Package for the Social Sciences” and was first launched in 1968. Since SPSS was acquired by IBM in 2009, it’s officially known as IBM SPSS Statistics but most users still just refer to it as “SPSS”. SPSS is software for editing and analyzing all sorts of data. These data may come from basically any source: scientific research, a customer database, Google Analytics or even the server log files of a website. SPSS can open all file formats that are commonly used for structured data such as: spreadsheets from MS Excel or OpenOffice; plain text files (.txt or .csv); relational (SQL) databases; Stata and SAS.

SPSS is straight forward, and its English-like command language helps the user to go through the flow. SPSS introduces the following four programs that help researchers with their complex data analysis needs.

• Statistics Program: SPSS’s statistics program gives a large amount of basic statistical functionality; some include frequencies, cross-tabulation, bivariate statistics, etc.
• Modeler Program: Researchers are able to build and validate predictive models with the help of advanced statistical procedures.
• Text Analytics for Surveys Program: It gives robust feedback analysis. which in turn get a vision for the actual plan.
• Visualization Designer: Researchers found this visual designer data to create a wide variety of visuals like density charts and radial box plots.

Main contentsSee more from basic to advanced

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS: Code Data for Data Entry

1. Guidelines for Data Coding Coding is the process of assigning numbers to the values or levels of each variable. Before starting the coding process,

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS: Plan the Study, Pilot Test, and Collect Data

Plan the study. The research starts with identification of a research problem and research questions or hypotheses. It is also necessary to plan the research

SPSS Tutorials: Date-Time Variables in SPSS

This tutorial covers how SPSS treats Date-Time variables, and how to use the Date & Time Wizard to create and compute variables using dates and

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS – Problem 2.3: Display Your Dictionary or Codebook

Now that you have defined and labeled your variables, you can print a codebook or dictionary of your variables. It is a very useful record

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS – Problem 2.2: Define and Label the Variables

The next step is to create a data file into which you will enter the data. If you do not have the program open, you

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS – Problem 2.1: Check the Completed Questionnaires

Now examine the incomplete, unclear, or double answers in questionnaire. Stop and do this now, before proceeding. What issues did you see? The researcher needs

Recoding String Variables (Automatic Recode) in SPSS

In SPSS, recoding categorical string variables to numeric codes and converting blank strings to missing values can be done automatically using Automatic Recode. The data

Recoding Variables in IBM SPSS

This tutorial shows how to use Recode into Different Variables and DO IF syntax to change or merge the categories of string or numeric variables

Computing Variables in SPSS

This tutorial shows how to compute new variables in SPSS using formulas and built-in functions. The data file in example is available to download here.

Importing data of other software in SPSS

In this post, we will show you how to import data in SPSS by two ways: Copying and pasting data, and directly Importing data files

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS – Problem 2.5: Run Descriptives and Check the Data

In order to get a better “feel” for the data and to check for other types of errors or problems on the questionnaires, we recommend

Data Coding, Entry, and Checking in SPSS – Problem 2.4: Enter Data

After defining and labeling the variables, your next task is to enter the data directly from the questionnaires or from a data entry form. Sometimes researchers

Measurement and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS: Frequency Distributions

Frequency distributions are critical to understanding our use of measurement terms. We begin this chapter with a discussion of frequency distributions and two examples. Frequency

Exporting anh Copying SPSS Outputs to Word or Excel

There are 2 ways to export and copy SPSS outputs to Word or Excel. We will show you how to do it. Let’s now download

Grouping or Splitting Data in SPSS

In SPSS, Split File is used to run statistical analyses on subsets of data without separating your data into two different files. When analyzing data, it

Sorting cases or variables in SPSS

Sorting a dataset rearranges the rows with respect to one or more variables. This tutorial discusses how to sort data using the drop-down menus in

How to Rank Cases in SPSS

In its simplest form, a rank transform converts a set of data values by ordering them from smallest to largest, and then assigning a rank

Weighting Cases in IBM SPSS

In SPSS, weighting cases allows you to assign "importance" or "weight" to the cases in your dataset. Some situations where this can be useful include: Your

Problem 4.2: Boxplots for One Variable and for Multiple Variables with SPSS

In addition to numerical methods for understanding your data, there are several graphic methods. In Chapter 3, we demonstrated the use of histograms and also

Problem 4.1: Descriptive Statistics for the Ordinal and Scale Variables with SPSS

In this problem, we use all of the HSB variables that we initially labeled as ordinal or scale in the Variable View. With those types

Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) with SPSS

1. What Is EDA? After the data are entered into this program, the first step to complete (before running any inferential statistics) is EDA, which

Measurement and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS: The Normal Curve

Figure 3.10 is an example of a normal curve. The frequency distributions of many of the variables used in the behavioral sciences are distributed approximately

Measurement and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS: Descriptive Statistics and Plots

Now we expand our discussion of frequency distributions to include frequency tables, which are constructed in very similar ways for all four types of measurement.

Measurement and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS: Levels of Measurement

Measurement is the assignment of numbers or symbols to the different characteristics (values) of variables according to rules. In order to understand your variables, it

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS – Problem 5.3: Recode and Compute Pleasure Scale Score

Now let’s Compute the average “pleasure from math” scale score (pleasure scale) from item02, item06 , item10, and item14 after reversing (Recoding) item06 and item10,

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS – Problem 5.2: Recode and Relabel Mother’s and Father’s Education

Now we will Recode mother’s education and father’s education so that those with no postsecondary education (2s and 3s) have a value of 1, those

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS – Problem 5.1: Count Math Courses Taken

Sometimes you want to know how many items the participants have taken, bought, done, agreed with, and so forth. One time this happens is when

Problem 4.5: Frequency Tables for a Few Variables with SPSS

Displaying Frequency tables for variables can help you understand how many participants are in each level of a variable and how much missing data of

Problem 4.4: Descriptives for Dichotomous Variables with SPSS

Now let’s explore the dichotomous variables. To do this, we do the Descriptives command for each of the dichotomous variables. Once again, we could have

Problem 4.3: Boxplots and Stem-and-Leaf Plots Split by a Dichotomous Variable with SPSS

Now let’s make a boxplot comparing males and females on math achievement. This is similar to what we did in Chapter 3, but here we

Inferential Statistics in SPSS: Selection of Inferential Statistics

How do you decide which of the many possible inferential statistics to use? Although this section may seem overwhelming at first because many statistical tests

Inferential Statistics in SPSS: General Design Classifications for Difference Questions

Many research questions focus on whether there is a significant difference between two or more groups or conditions. When a group comparison or difference question

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS: Saving the Updated HSB Data File

You should always save your data file if you entered new data or made any changes. If you forget to Save, you will have to

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS: Describing the Sample Demographics and Key Variables

Using the information that you computed in Chapters 4 and 5, we can now describe this sample of the High School and Beyond (hsb) data.

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS – Problem 5.5: Check for Errors and Normality for the New Variables

Run Descriptives in order to understand the new variables, check for errors, and see if they are distributed normally. Using Chapter 4 (Problem 4.1) as

Data File Management and Descriptive Statistics with SPSS – Problem 5.4: Compute Parents’ Revised Education With the Mean Function

We have decided to combine father’s and mother’s education scores because, as we will find out later, they are highly correlated. Thus, for some purposes,

Problem 7.2: Risk Ratios and Odds Ratios with SPSS

When you have two dichotomous variables and thus a 2 x 2 contingency table or cross-tabulation, you can compute risk ratios and odds ratios instead

Problem 7.1: Chi-Square and Phi (or Cramer’s V) with SPSS

The statistics discussed in this first problem are designed to analyze two nominal or dichotomous variables. Remember, nominal variables are variables that have distinct unordered

Inferential Statistics in SPSS: Writing About Your Outputs

One of the goals of this book is to help you write a research report or thesis using the outputs. Thus, we have provided an

Inferential Statistics in SPSS: An Example of How to Select and Interpret Inferential Statistics

As a review of what you read in Chapter 1 and this chapter, we now provide an extended example based on the HSB data. We

Inferential Statistics in SPSS: Interpreting the Results of a Statistical Test

In the following chapters, we present information about how to check assumptions, do the commands, interpret the previous statistics, and write about them. For each

Inferential Statistics in SPSS: The General Linear Model

Whether or not there is a relationship between variables can be answered in two ways. For example, if each of two variables provides approximately normally

Correlation and Regression with SPSS – Problem 8.3: Correlation Matrix for Several Variables

If you have more than two ordinal or normally distributed variables that you want to correlate, the program will produce a matrix showing the correlation

Correlation and Regression with SPSS – Problem 8.2: Bivariate Pearson and Spearman Correlations

The Pearson product moment correlation is a bivariate parametric statistic used when both variables are approximately normally distributed (i.e., scale data). When you have ordinal

Correlation and Regression with SPSS – Problem 8.1: Scatterplots to Check Assumptions

A scatterplot is a plot or graph of two variables that shows how the score for an individual on one variable associates with his or

Problem 7.5: Cohen’s Kappa for Reliability With Nominal Data with SPSS

When we have two nominal variables with the same values (usually two raters’ observations or scores using the same codes), you can compute Cohen’s kappa

Problem 7.4: Cross-Tabulation and Eta with SPSS

There is an important associational statistic, eta, that is used when one variable is nominal and the other is approximately normal or scale. We will

Problem 7.3: Other Nonparametric Associational Statistics with SPSS

In addition to phi and Cramer’s V, there are several other nonparametric measures of association that we could have chosen in Fig. 7.2. They attempt,

Comparing Two Groups with SPSS – Problem 9.3: The Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U Test

What should you do if the t test assumptions are markedly violated (e.g., what if the dependent variable data are grossly skewed, otherwise non-normally distributed,

Comparing Two Groups with SPSS – Problem 9.2: Independent Samples t Test

When investigating the difference between two unrelated or independent groups (in this case males and females) on an approximately normal dependent variable, it is appropriate

Comparing Two Groups with SPSS – Problem 9.1: One-Sample t Test

Sometimes you want to compare the mean of a sample with a hypothesized population mean to see if your sample is significantly different. For example,

Correlation and Regression with SPSS – Problem 8.6: Multiple Regression

The purpose of multiple regression is similar to bivariate regression, but with more predictor variables. Multiple regression attempts to predict a normal (i.e., scale) dependent

Correlation and Regression with SPSS – Problem 8.5: Bivariate or Simple Linear Regression

As stated earlier, the Pearson correlation is the best choice for a statistic when you are interested in the association of two variables that have

Correlation and Regression with SPSS – Problem 8.4: Internal Consistency Reliability With Cronbach’s Alpha

A very common measure of reliability in the research literature is Cronbach’s alpha. It usually is used to assess the internal consistency reliability of several

Analysis of Variance with SPSS – Problem 10.3: Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis Test

What else can you do if the homogeneity of variance assumption is violated (or if your data are ordinal or highly skewed)? One answer is

Analysis of Variance with SPSS – Problem 10.2: Post Hoc Multiple Comparison Tests

Now we will introduce the concept of post hoc multiple comparisons, sometimes called follow­up tests. When you compare three or more group means, you know

Analysis of Variance with SPSS – Problem 10.1: One-Way (or Single Factor) ANOVA

In this problem, you will examine a statistical technique for comparing two or more independent groups on the dependent variable. The appropriate statistic, called One-Way

Comparing Two Groups with SPSS – Problem 9.6: Nonparametric Wilcoxon Test for Two Related

Let’s assume that education levels and visualization test scores are not normally distributed and/or other assumptions of the paired t test are violated. In fact,

Comparing Two Groups with SPSS – Problem 9.5: Using the Paired t Test to Check Reliability

In addition to comparing the means for two paired or matched samples, the paired t can be used in connection with checking reliability, especially test-retest

Comparing Two Groups with SPSS – Problem 9.4: Paired Samples t Test

In this problem, you will compare the average scores of each HSB student’s father’s and mother’s scores on the same measure, namely, their educational level.

Several Measures of Reliability with SPSS – Problem 3.6: Cohen’s Kappa With Nominal Data

When we have two nominal categorical variables with the same values (usually two raters’ observations or scores using the same codes), we can compute Cohen’s

Several Measures of Reliability with SPSS – Problem 3.5: Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC)

ICC performs a reliability analysis for two or usually more judges or observers who have rated the same somewhat subjective behavior. In our example, the

Several Measures of Reliability with SPSS – Problem 3.4: Test-Retest Reliability Using Correlation

Is there support for the test-retest reliability of the two visualization test scores? Let’s do a Pearson r for visualization test and visualization retest scores.

Several Measures of Reliability with SPSS – Problems 3.2 and 3.3: Cronbach’s Alpha for the Competence and Pleasure Scales

Again, is it reasonable to add the scores for these items together to form summated measures of the concepts of competence and pleasure? What is

Several Measures of Reliability with SPSS – Problem 3.1: Cronbach’s Alpha for the Motivation Scale

The motivation score is composed of six items that were rated on four-point Likert scales, from very atypical (1) to very typical (4). Do the

Analysis of Variance with SPSS – Problem 10.4: Two-Way (or Factorial) ANOVA

In previous problems, we compared two or more groups based on the levels of only one independent variable or factor using t tests (Chapter 9)

Multiple Regression with SPSS – Problem 6.4: Forward Multiple Linear Regression

In Problem 6.4, we will use the forward approach, which is when SPSS adds variables one at a time by assessing which variable has the

Multiple Regression with SPSS – Problem 6.3: Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression

In Problem 6.3, we will use the hierarchical approach, which is used when you want to enter the variables in a series of blocks or

Multiple Regression with SPSS – Problem 6.2: Simultaneous Regression Correcting Multicollinearity

In Problem 6.2, we will use the combined/average of the two variables, mother’s education and father’s education, and then recompute the multiple regression after omitting

Multiple Regression with SPSS – Problem 6.1: Using the Simultaneous Method to Compute Multiple Regression

To reiterate, the purpose of multiple regression is to predict an interval (or scale) dependent variable from a combination of several interval/scale and/or dichotomous independent/predictor

Problem 4.2: Principal Components Analysis on Achievement Variables with SPSS

Principal components analysis is most useful if one simply wants to reduce a relatively large number of variables to a smaller number of variables that

Problem 4.1: Factor Analysis on Math Attitude Variables with SPSS

In Problem 4.1, we perform a principal axis factor analysis on the math attitude variables. Factor analysis is more appropriate than PCA when one has

Problem 7.4: Canonical Correlation with SPSS

In Problem 7.4 we will assess the relationship between multiple scale independent variables and multiple scale dependent variables. This analysis is an extension of multiple

Problem 7.3: Moderation: Graphing the Slopes with SPSS

In Problem 7.3 we will graph the slopes using the data from the output from Problem 7.2. What do the slopes look like when previous

Running the Moderation analysis in SPSS using PROCESS

In the previous post, we will conduct a moderation analysis. Recall that the purpose of moderation is to investigate how the interaction between two or

Running the Mediation analysis in SPSS using PROCESS

The purpose of testing statistical mediation is to understand the effects of a presumed mediating variable on the relationship between a scale or dichotomous predictor

Mediation, Moderation, and Canonical Correlation

1. Mediation Mediation occurs when the observed relationship between two variables is due, at least in part, to a third variable. Statistically, mediation occurs when

Multiple Regression with SPSS – Problem 6.5: Backward Elimination Multiple Linear Regression

In Problem 6.5, we will use the backward approach, which is when all the variables are added into the model, then are eliminated one by

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