Tutorial of SPSS 16
- 1). Open SPSS 16.0 for Windows, which opens the program to the Data Editor, a blank template of rows and columns that resembles a spreadsheet. The SPSS Data Editor includes two tabs that offer different options for viewing the data. The first, known as the data view, enables you to enter and view the data. The second tab, the variable view, allows you to add new variables and modify the properties of existing variables.
- 2). Populate a blank page on the data editor with data you wish to analyze. You can enter data by hand if you wish, specifying variable names in the variable view and then entering the actual data associated with each variable. For example, if your data comes from a survey that asks the gender of the respondents, you can create a variable titled "gender" in variable view. In the data view, you can enter "M" for male respondents and "F" for females.
- 3). Instead of entering data by hand, save time by importing into SPSS existing data from another source, such as Excel. To do this, click "Open" in the top-left corner of the data editor screen and select the "Data" option. This will open a new window, enabling you to search for and choose the Excel file you want to import. Click "OK" after choosing the file you want.
- 4). Summarize your data with descriptive statistics. Clicking the "Analyze" menu at the top of the data editor in SPSS 16 will display you analysis options. To run descriptive statistics, click the "Analyze" menu and select "Descriptive Statistics." Then select the descriptive statistics you want to run. Available options in SPSS include frequencies; descriptive such as means, medians and standard deviations; and crosstabulations, which summarize data and arrange them in rows and columns. Choosing the procedure you want will open a smaller window, in which you will select the variables you want to analyze. After choosing the variables of interest, click "OK." SPSS will then run your chosen procedures and display the results in an output window.
- 5). Analyze your data in greater depth with the appropriate statistical technique. The "Analyze" menu will display your options. The nature of your research questions and the type of data you have will help determine the appropriate procedure for analyzing the data. Available options in SPSS 16 include t-tests, linear regression, analysis of variance, factor analysis, survival analysis; and customized tables. In addition, the "Graphs" menu, located next to the Analyze menu, provides step-by-step assistance in creating a variety of visual displays, including pie charts, bar graphs, line charts, scatterplots and histograms.
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