The SPSS for windows statistical software package is widely used in many fields of study. This is an introduction to the basic features of the software and is intended to guide a first time user through the initial steps of working with SPSS. This is not a substitute for the SPSS manual as many advanced and routine procedures are not covered.
I. Requirements for Getting Started on SPSS
SPSS for windows resides on the Novell network at the University of Idaho. The user must have access to the system to use this software. Also the user should have a 3.5 inch disk to save any data or output files.
II. Getting Started
After Login:
Double click on "Lab Software"
Double click on "Math & Statistics"
Double click on "SPSS 7.5"
Double click on "SPSS for Windows" (the first one).
You are now in SPSS for Windows.
III. Entering Data in SPSS for Windows
A. Entering data directly
Single click on 'DATA' in the menu bar.
Select 'Define Variable' from the sub menu. A Define Variable window should appear. Replace var00001 with 'EC' in the Variable Name box and hit Type. In the Define Variable Type box, select string and character length of 2.
Press <tab>. The box in the second column and first row should be highlighted.
Select 'Data' from the menu bar.
Select 'Define Variable' from the submenu.
Replace var00001 with 'SBPl' in the variable name window.
Select 'ok'. Leave the other sections of the window in the default settings. Select 'ok'.
Enter 'SBP2' in column 3, 'SBP3' in column 4, 'FL' in column 5 and 'HT' in column 6.
Highlight the box in row l, column ec. Enter the data set listed below.
For example, enter the data for the ec variable by typing ‘g’. ‘g’ should appear in the block under the Newdata header. Press 'Enter'. g should appear in the first row under the first column. The block in the second row should be highlighted. Enter the remaining data for this variable. Move to the second column and enter the data for this variable. Enter the remaining data for the remaining variables.
Save the data as A:\SPSSEXP.DAT. See section IV. for instructions.
Eye Color |
Systolic Blood Pressure 1 |
Systolic Blood Pressure 2 |
Systolic Blood Pressure 3 |
Finger Length |
Height |
EC |
SBPI |
SBP2 |
SBP3 |
FL |
HT |
g |
121 |
124 |
128 |
4.1 |
72 |
bl |
113 |
125 |
110 |
3.5 |
62 |
br |
129 |
122 |
120 |
3.2 |
74 |
br |
129 |
136 |
130 |
3.5 |
72 |
n |
116 |
164 |
132 |
3.0 |
63 |
br |
138 |
121 |
123 |
3.2 |
72 |
bl |
122 |
130 |
126 |
3.6 |
72 |
n |
120 |
121 |
110 |
3.0 |
71 |
bl |
112 |
108 |
104 |
3.5 |
68 |
br |
118 |
113 |
95 |
2.5 |
64 |
B. Entering data from ASCII file
Select 'File' from the menu bar.
Double click on 'Read ASCII Data'.
In the Read ASCII Data File window, Enter the ASCII filename. For this example the data is found in A:\intspss.dat. Select 'Define'.
In the Define Variable window, enter the first variable. For this example, enter 'CE', tab to Data Type box and select 'String' with width 8. Select 'Add'.
Enter the next variable 'SBP I' with data type 'Numeric". Enter the remaining variables.
The Newdata window should appear with data appearing in rows 2-1 1.
Row one contains the titles of the columns from the ASCII file.
Delete the top row by clicking on the left block in row one. This should highlight the entire row. Press <Delete>. The top row should be deleted and rows 2-1 1 should shift up. Now the Newdata window should be similar to the data appearing in the previous section.
IV. Using SPSS for Data Analysis
A. Calculating the mean of a variable
Highlight var in the 7th column. Double click on 'Data' in the menu bar.
Select 'Define Variable' from the sub menu.
Enter AVGSBP in the 'Variable Name' box. Select 'ok'. AVGSBP will be the average of SBP 1, SBP2 and SBP3 for each observation.
Select 'Transform' from the menu bar.
Select 'Compute' from the sub menu.
Enter 'avgsbp' in the 'Target Variable' box.
Enter (sbpl + sbp2 + sbp3) / 3 in the 'Numeric Expression' box.
Select 'ok' to change the existing variable. The mean should be calculated for the 10 observations and appear in the AVGSBP column.
B. Calculating the correlation of a set of variables
Select 'Statistics' from the menu bar.
Select 'Correlate' from the submenu.
Select Bivariate from the sub menu. A Bivariate Correlation's window should appear.
Move AVGSBP, HT and FL to Variables box, select 'ok'. The output window should appear with the results.
C. Plotting two variables against each other
Select 'Graph' from the menu bar.
Select 'Scatter' from the submenu.
Select 'Simple' from Scatterplot window.
Select 'Define'. The Simple Scatterplot window should appear.
Highlight AVGSBP, move to Y axis box, highlight HT and move to X axis box, select 'ok'.
A scatter plot should appear in the Chart Carousel window with AVGSBP on the Y axis and HT on the X axis.
D. Testing for normality
Select 'Statistics' from the menu bar.
Select 'Summarize' from the submenu.
Select 'Explore' from the submenu.
In the Explore window, move avgsbp from the Dependent List box and fl to the Factor List box.
Select 'ok'.
A box plot output will be generated in the Chart Carousel. Double click on the Chart Carousel icon at the lower left portion of the screen.
V. Saving a File
Data can be saved on the G: or H: drives. For this example, data will be saved to the A: drive.
Select 'File' from the menu bar.
Select 'Save as' from the submenu.
In the filename window, type 'A:\SPSSEYP.DAT', select 'ok'.
VI. Printing a File
A. Printing output graphs.
The graph or plot to be printed should be displayed in the Chart Carousel.
Select the 'printer' icon from the menu bar.
To print the graph, select 'ok' in the Print Chart Carousel window.
The output can be modified by selecting 'setup' in the Print Newdata window and making changes in the print setup window.
B. Printing data.
Select the data window and highlight the fields of data to be printed.
For this example, move the cursor to row 1, column 1. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the cursor down 1 0 rows and right 7 columns. The entire field to be printed should be reverse highlighted.
Select the 'printer' Icon from the menu bar.
In the Print Newdata window, select 'ok'.
The output can be modified by selecting 'setup' in the Print Newdata window and making changes in the print setup window.
VII. Exiting the Program
A. Before exiting, the user should save any files needed for future use.
Select 'File' from the menu bar.
Select 'Exit' from the submenu.
Save files when prompted.
Prepared by Brooks Gard, December, 1994, revised by Don Blair, October, 1995