SPSS

At the end of this session, you should be able to perform the following tasks
Introduction
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) is a package of
programs for manipulating, analyzing, and presenting data; the package is
widely used in the social and eha!ioral sciences" The core program is called
SPSS #ase and there are a numer of add$on modules that e%tend the range
of data entry, statistical, or reporting capailities" &or e%ample, SPSS
'd!anced (odels, SPSS )egression (odels, SPSS *%act Tests, SPSS Tales,
SPSS +ategories, SPSS Trends, SPSS (issing ,alue 'nalysis etc"
Introduction to SPSS environment (Getting to know SPSS)
Starting SPSS
There are a numer of different ways to start SPSS-
. The simplest way is to look for an SPSS icon on your desktop" Place your cursor
on the icon and doule$click"
. /ou can also start SPSS y clicking on Start, mo!e your cursor up to Programs,
and then across to the list of programs a!ailale" (o!e up or down until you find
SPSS for 0indows"
. SPSS will also start up if you doule$click on an SPSS data file listed in 0indows
*%plorer1these files ha!e a "sa! e%tension"
0hen you open SPSS you may encounter this grey front co!er screen asking 20hat
would you like to do34"
5t is easier to close this screen (click on the cross in the top right$hand corner) and
get used to using the other SPSS menus" 0hen you close the opening screen you
will see a lank spreadsheet" To open an e%isting SPSS data file from this
spreadsheet screen, click on File, and then Open, from the menu displayed at the
top of the screen"
pening an e!isting data "le
5f you wish to open an e%isting data file, click on &ile from the menu across the top
of the screen, and then choose 6pen, and then 7ata" The 6pen &ile dialogue o%
will allow you to search through the !arious directories on your computer to find
where your data file is stored" /ou should always open data files from the hard
dri!e of your computer, not from e%ternal memory dri!e"
Saving a data "les
0hen you first create a data file, or make changes to an e%isting one, you must
rememer to sa!e your data file" This does not happen automatically, as in some
word processing programs" 5f you don4t sa!e regularly, and there is a power
lackout or you accidentally press the wrong key, you will lose all of your work" So
sa!e yourself the heartache and sa!e regularly" To sa!e a file you are working on,
go to the File menu (top left$hand corner) and choose Save"
0hen you first sa!e a new data file, you will e asked to specify a name for the file
and to indicate a directory and a folder that it will e stored in" +hoose the directory
and then type in a file name" SPSS will automatically gi!e all data file names the
e%tension .sav" This is so that it can recognise it as an SPSS data file" 7on4t change
this e%tension, otherwise SPSS won4t e ale to find the file when you ask for it
again later"
Starting a new data file
Starting a new data file is easy in SPSS is easy" +lick on &ile, then, from the
dropdown menu, click on 8ew and then 7ata" &rom here you can start defining your
!ariales and entering your data"
SPSS windows
The main windows you will use in SPSS are the 7ata *ditor, the ,iewer, the Pi!ot
Tale *ditor, +hart *ditor and the Synta% *ditor"
Data Editor window
The 7ata *ditor window displays the contents of your data file, and in this window
you can open, sa!e and close e%isting data files; create a new data file; enter data;
make changes to the e%isting data file; and run statistical analyses, the data editor
window also contains the !ariale !iew
Viewer window
,iewer window will open automatically when you open the data editor !iew, This
window displays the results of the analyses you ha!e conducted, including tales
and charts" 5n this window you can modify the output, delete it, copy it, sa!e it, or
e!en transfer it into a 0ord document" 0hen you sa!e the output from SPSS
statistical analyses it is sa!ed in a separate file with a "spo e%tension, to distinguish
it from data files, which ha!e a "sa! e%tension"
The ,iewer screen consists of two parts" 6n the left is an outline or menu pane,
which gi!es you a full list of all the analyses you ha!e conducted" /ou can use this
side to 9uickly na!igate your way around your output (which can ecome !ery long,
!ery 9uickly)" :ust click on the section you want to mo!e to and it will appear on
the right$hand side of the screen" 6n the right$hand side of the ,iewer window are
the results of your analyses, which can include tales and charts (or graphs)"
Saving output
To sa!e the results of your analyses you must ha!e the ,iewer window open on the
screen in front of you" +lick on &ile from the menu at the top of the screen" +lick on
Sa!e" +hoose the directory and folder you wish to sa!e your output in, and then
type in a file name that uni9uely identifies your output" +lick on Save"
Note
To pre!ent confusion and frustration, get organized and keep good records of the
analyses you ha!e done and of where you ha!e sa!ed the results"
Printing output
/ou can use the menu pane (left$hand side) of the ,iewer window to select
particular sections of your results to print out" To do this you need to highlight the
sections that you want" +lick on the first section you want, hold the +trl key on your
keyoard down and then ;ust click on any other sections you want" To print these
sections, click on the &ile menu (from the top of your screen) and choose Print"
SPSS will ask whether you want to print your selected output or the whole output"
Pivot Table Editor window
The tales you see in the ,iewer window (which SPSS calls Pi!ot Tales) can e
modified to suit your needs" To modify a tale you need to doule$click on it, which
takes you into what is known as the Pi!ot Tale *ditor" /ou can use this editor to
change the look of your tale, the size, the fonts used, the dimensions of the
columns1you can e!en swap the presentation of !ariales around from rows to
columns"
Chart Editor window
0hen you ask SPSS to produce a histogram, ar graph or scatterplot, it initially
displays these in the ,iewer window" 5f you wish to make changes to the type or
presentation of the chart, you need to go into the +hart *ditor window y doule$
clicking on your chart" 5n this window you can modify the appearance and format of
your graph, change the fonts, colours, patterns and line markers"
Snta! Editor window
The Synta% *ditor is particularly useful when you need to repeat a lot of analyses or
generate a numer of similar graphs" /ou can use the normal SPSS menus to set up
the asic commands of a particular statistical techni9ue and then 2paste4 these to
the Synta% *ditor (see &igure <"=)" The Synta% *ditor allows you to copy and paste
commands, and to make modifications to the commands generated y SPSS"
#enus
0ithin each of the windows descried ao!e, SPSS pro!ides you with an array of
menu choices" These choices are displayed using little icons (or pictures), also in
drop$down menus across the top of the screen"
$ialogue bo!es
6nce you select a menu option you will usually e asked for further information"
This is done in a dialogue o%" &or e%ample, when you ask SPSS to run &re9uencies
it will display a dialogue o% asking you to nominate which !ariales you want to
use"
&rom here, you will open a numer of additional su$dialogue o%es, where you will
e ale to specify which statistics you would like displayed, the charts that you
would like generated and the format the results will e presented in" 7ifferent
options are a!ailale, depending on the procedure or analysis to e performed, ut
the asic principles in using dialogues o%es are the same"
Sele"ting variables in a dialogue bo!
To indicate which !ariales you want to use, you need to highlight the selected
!ariales in the list pro!ided (y clicking on them), then click on the arrow utton
to mo!e them into the empty o% laeled ,ariale(s)" To remo!e a !ariale from
the o%, you ;ust re!erse the process" +lick on the !ariale in the ,ariale(s) o%
that you wish to remo!e, click on the arrow utton, and it shifts the !ariale ack
into the original list" /ou will notice the direction of the arrow utton changes,
depending on whether you are mo!ing !ariales into or out of the ,ariale(s) o%"
Dialogue bo! buttons
5n most dialogue o%es you will notice a numer of standard uttons (6>, Paste,
)eset, +ancel and ?elp; see &igure <"@)" The uses of each of these uttons are-
. 6>- click on this utton when you ha!e selected your !ariales and are ready to
run the analysis or procedure"
. Paste- this utton is used to transfer the commands that SPSS has generated in
this dialogue o% to the Synta% *ditor (a description of which is presented earlier in
this chapter)" This is useful if you wish to repeat an analysis a numer of times, or
if you wish to make changes to the SPSS commands"
. )eset- this utton is used to clear the dialogue o% of all the pre!ious commands
you might ha!e gi!en when you last used this particular statistical techni9ue or
procedure" 5t gi!es you a clean slate to perform a new analysis, with different
!ariales"
+ancel- clicking on this utton closes the dialogue o% and cancels all of the
commands you may ha!e gi!en in relation to that techni9ue or procedure"
. ?elp- click on this utton to otain information aout the techni9ue or procedure
you are aout to perform"
%losing SPSS
0hen you ha!e finished your SPSS session and wish to close the program down,
click on the &ile menu at the top left of the screen" +lick on *%it" SPSS will prompt
you to sa!e your data file and a file that contains your output (results of the
analyses)" SPSS gi!es each file an e%tension to indicate the type of information that
it contains" ' data file will e gi!en a "sa! e%tension, while the output files will e
assigned a "spo e%tension"
%reating a data "le and entering data
The asic steps in!ol!ed in the process of creating a data file and entering
the data using SPSS
A +heck and modify, where necessary, the options (or preferences, as
they were referred to in earlier !ersions of SPSS) that SPSS uses to
display the data and the output that is produced"
B Set up the structure of the data file y 2defining4 the !ariales"
< *nter the data"
%hanging the SPSS &ptions'
The options allow you to define how your !ariales will e displayed, the size of
your charts, the type of tales that will e displayed in the output and many other
aspects of the program"
To open the 6ptions screen, click on Edit from the menu at the top of the screen
and then choose Options"
Tips
#d$ust as it suit ou. E!periment with different options at our own
"onvenien"e
$e"ning the variables
7efining the !ariales means informing SPSS aout your !ariale names and coding
instructions" /ou will do this in the Data Editor window, the 7ata *ditor window
consists of two different !iews- Data View and Variable View
Data Editor window
Variable View
/our ;o now is to define each of your !ariales y specifying the re9uired
information for each !ariale listed in your codeook" Some of the information you
will need to pro!ide yourself (e"g" name); other its are pro!ided automatically y
SPSS using default !alues" These default !alues can e changed if necessary"
Values
5n the ,alues column you can define the meaning of the !alues you ha!e used to
code your !ariales" 5 will demonstrate this process for the !ariale 2Se%4"
A" +lick on the three dots on the right$hand side of the cell" This opens the ,alue
Cael dialogue o%"
B" +lick in the o% marked ,alue" Type in A"
<" +lick in the o% marked ,alue Cael" Type in (ale"
=" +lick on 'dd" /ou will then see in the summary o%- AD(ale"
@" )epeat for &emales- ,alue- enter B, ,alue Cael- enter &emale" 'dd"
E" 0hen you ha!e finished defining all the possile !alues (as listed in your
codeook), click on +ontinue"
%easure
The column heading (easure refers to the le!el of measurement of each of your
!ariales" The default is Scale, which refers to an inter!al or ratio le!el of
measurement" 5f your !ariale consists of categories (e"g" se%), then click in the
cell, and then on the arrow key that appears" +hoose 8ominal for categorical data,
and 6rdinal if your data in!ol!e rankings, or ordered !alues"
(ntering data
6nce you ha!e defined each of your !ariale names and gi!en them !alue laels
(where appropriate), you are ready to enter your data"
Pro"edure for entering data
A" To enter data you need to ha!e the 7ata ,iew acti!e" +lick on the 7ata ,iew ta
at the ottom left$hand side of the screen" ' spreadsheet should appear with your
newly defined !ariale names listed across the top"
B" (o!e across the row, entering all the information for each case, making sure that
the !alues are entered in the correct columns"
<" To mo!e ack to the start, press the ?ome key on your keypad" Press the down
arrow to mo!e to the second row, and enter the data for case B"
'fter you ha!e defined your !ariales and entered your data, your 7ata *ditor
window should look something like that shown in &igure
Danger alert&&&
'hen entering data( remember to save our data file regularl. SPSS does
not automati"all save it for ou. )f ou don*t save it( ou ris+ losing all the
information ou have entered. To save( $ust "li"+ on the File menu and
"hoose Save or "li"+ on the i"on that loo+s li+e a "omputer dis+.
#odifying the data "le
'fter you ha!e created a data file you may need to make changes to it (e"g" to add,
delete or mo!e !ariales; or to add or delete cases)" There are also situations
where you may need to sort a data file into a specific order, or to split your file to
analyse groups separately"
To delete a "ase
To insert a "ase between e!isting "ases
To delete a variable
To insert a variable between e!isting variables
To move an e!isting variable
To sort the data file
/ou can ask SPSS to sort your data file according to !alues on one of your !ariales
(e"g" se%, age)" +lick on the 7ata menu, choose Sort +ases and specify which
!ariale will e used to sort y" To return your file to its original order, repeat the
process, asking SPSS to sort the file y 57"
To split the data file
Sometimes it is necessary to split your file and to repeat analyses for groups (e"g"
males and females) separately" Please note that this procedure does not physically
alter your file in any permanent manner" 5t is an option you can turn on and off as it
suits your purposes" The order in which the cases are displayed in the data file will
change, howe!er" /ou can return the data file to its original order (y 57) y using
the Sort +ases command descried ao!e"
Steps
A" (ake sure you ha!e the 7ata *ditor window open on the screen"
B" +lick on the 7ata menu and choose the Split &ile option"
<" +lick on +ompare groups and specify the grouping !ariale (e"g" se%)"
=" +lick on 6>"
&or the analyses that you perform after this split file procedure, the two groups (in
this case, males and females) will e analysed separately" 0hen you ha!e finished
the analyses, you need to go ack and turn the Split &ile option off"
A" (ake sure you ha!e the 7ata *ditor window open on the screen"
B" +lick on the 7ata menu and choose the Split &ile option"
<" +lick on the first dot ('nalyze all cases, do not create groups)"
=" +lick on 6>"
To sele"t "ases
&or some analyses you may wish to select a suset of your sample (e"g" only
males)"
A" (ake sure you ha!e the 7ata *ditor window open on the screen"
B" +lick on the 7ata menu and choose the Select +ases option"
<" +lick on the 5f condition is satisfied utton"
=" +lick on the utton laelled 5& " " "
@" +hoose the !ariale that defines the group that you are interested in (e"g" se%)"
E" +lick on the arrow utton to mo!e the !ariale name into the o%" +lick on the D
key from the keypad displayed on the screen"
F" Type in the !alue that corresponds to the group you are interested in (check with
your codeook)" &or e%ample, males in this sample are coded A, therefore you
would type in A" The command line should read- se%DA"
G" +lick on +ontinue and then 6>"
&or the analyses (e"g" correlation) that you perform after this select cases
procedure, only the group that you selected (e"g" males) will e included" 0hen you
ha!e finished the analyses, you need to go ack and turn the Select +ases option
off"
To turn the sele"t "ases option off
A" (ake sure you ha!e the 7ata *ditor window open on the screen"
B" +lick on the 7ata menu and choose Select +ases option"
<" +lick on the 'll cases option"
=" +lick on 6>"
$ata entry using (!cel
7ata files can e prepared in the (icrosoft *%cel program and then imported into
SPSS for analysis" 6ne word of warning- *%cel can cope with only B@E columns of
data (in SPSS language- !ariales)" 5f your data file is likely to e larger than this,
it is proaly easier to set it up in SPSS, rather con!ert from *%cel to SPSS later"
Step A- Set up the !ariale names
Note, The !ariale names must conform to the SPSS rules for naming !ariales
Step B- *nter the data
Step <- +on!erting to SPSS format
'fter you ha!e entered the data, sa!e your file and then close *%cel" Start SPSS
and, with the Data Editor open on the screen, click on File, Open, Data, from the
menu at the top of the screen" 5n the section laelled Files of Tpe choose E!"el"
*%cel files ha!e a "%ls e%tension" &ind the file that contains your data" +lick on it so
that it appears in the &ile name section" +lick on the Open button" ' screen will
appear laelled 6pening *%cel 7ata Source" (ake sure there is a tick in the o%-
)ead !ariale names from the first row of data" +lick on 6>" The data will appear
on the screen with the !ariale names listed across the top" /ou will, howe!er, need
to go ahead and define the ,ariale laels, ,alue laels and the type of (easure"
Step -, Saving as an SPSS file
0hen you ha!e completed this process of fully defining the !ariales, you need to
sa!e your file as an SPSS file" +hoose &ile, and then Sa!e 's from the menu at the
top of the screen" Type in a suitale file name" (ake sure that the Sa!e as Type is
set at SPSS (H"sa!)" +lick on Sa!e" 0hen you wish to open this file later to analyse
your data using SPSS, make sure you choose the file that has a "sa! e%tension (not
your original *%cel file that has an "%ls e%tension)"
Screening and cleaning the data
#efore you start to analyse your data it is essential that you check your data set for
errors" 5t is !ery easy to make mistakes when entering data, and unfortunately
some errors can completely mess up your analyses" &or e%ample, entering <@ when
you mean to enter < can distort the results of a correlation analysis" Some analyses
are !ery sensiti!e to what are known as 2outliers4- that is, !alues that are well
elow or well ao!e the other scores"
Step )* %hecking for errors
/ou need to check each of your !ariales for scores that are out of range (i"e" not
within the range of possile scores)" To check for errors you will need to inspect the
fre9uencies for each of your !ariales"
Pro"edure for "he"+ing "ategori"al variables
A" &rom the main menu at the top of the screen click on- #nal.e, then click on
Des"riptive Statisti"s, then Fre/uen"ies"
B" +hoose the !ariales that you wish to check (e"g" se%, marital, educ")"
<" +lick on the arrow button to mo!e these into the !ariale o%"
=" +lick on the Statisti"s utton" Tick %inimum and %a!imum in the 7ispersion
section"
@" +lick on +ontinue and then on O0"
Pro"edure for "he"+ing "ontinuous variables
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on #nal.e, then click on
Des"riptive statisti"s, then Des"riptives"
B" +lick on the variables that you wish to check" +lick on the arrow utton to
mo!e them into the ,ariales o% (e"g" age)"
<" +lick on the Options button" /ou can ask for a range of statistics, the main
ones at this stage are mean, standard deviation, minimum and ma!imum"
+lick on the statistics you wish to generate"
=" +lick on Continue, and then on O0"
Step +* ,inding the error in the data "le
Pro"edures for identifing the "ase where an error has o""urred
(ethod A
A" (ake sure that the 7ata *ditor window is open and on the screen in front of you
with the data showing"
B" +lick on the !ariale name of the !ariale in which the error has occurred (e"g"
se%)"
<" +lick once to highlight the column"
=" +lick on *dit from the menu across the top of the screen" +lick on Find"
@" 5n the Search for o%, type in the incorrect !alue that you are looking for (e"g"
<)"
E" +lick on Search &orward" SPSS will scan through the file and will stop at the first
occurrence of the !alue that you specified" Take note of the 57 numer of this case
(from the first row)" /ou will need this to check your records or 9uestionnaires to
find out what the !alue should e"
F" +lick on Search &orward again to continue searching for other cases with the
same incorrect !alue" /ou may need to do this a numer of times efore you reach
the end of the data set"
%ethod 1
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- 'nalyze, then click on
7escripti!e Statistics, then *%plore"
B" 5n the 7isplay section click on Statistics"
<" +lick on the !ariales that you are interested in (e"g" se%) and mo!e them into
the 7ependent list y clicking on the arrow utton"
=" 5n the Cael cases section choose 57 from your !ariale list" This will gi!e you the
57 numer of the case, and will allow you to trace ack to the 9uestionnaireIrecord
with the mistake"
@" 5n the Statistics section choose 6utliers" To sa!e unnecessary output you may
also like to remo!e the tick from 7escripti!es (;ust click once)" +lick on +ontinue"
E" 5n the 6ptions section choose *%clude cases pairwise" +lick on +ontinue and then
6>"
Step -* %orrecting the error in the data "le
Pro"edure for "orre"ting the error in the data file
A" To correct the error, it will e necessary to go ack to your 9uestionnaires (or the
records from your e%periment)" &ind the 9uestionnaire or record with the 57
numer that was identified as an e%treme !alue" +heck what !alue should ha!e
een entered for that person (e"g" for se%- was it a male (score A) or a female
(score B)3)"
B" (o!e down to the case numer that has the error" 6nce you ha!e found the
person with that case numer, mo!e across the row until you come to the column of
the !ariale with the error (e"g" Se%)" Place the cursor in the cell, make sure that it
is highlighted and then ;ust type in the correct !alue"
This will replace the old incorrect !alue" Press one of the arrow keys and you will
see the correct !alue appear in the cell"
Note, 'fter you ha!e corrected your errors it is a good idea to repeat &re9uencies
to doule$check" Sometimes, in correcting one error, you will ha!e accidentally
caused another error" 'lthough this process is tedious it is !ery important that you
start with a clean, error$free data set" The success of your research depends on itJ
7on4t cut corners"
$escriptive statistics
7escripti!e statistics ha!e a numer of uses" These include-
. To descrie the characteristics of your sample in the (ethod section of your
report;
. To check your !ariales for any !iolation of the assumptions underlying the
statistical techni9ues that you will use to address your research 9uestions;
and
. To address specific research 9uestions"
%ategorical variables
To otain descripti!e statistics for categorical !ariales you should use &re9uencies"
Procedure for otaining descripti!e statistics for categorical !ariales
A" &rom menu, #nal.e, then click on Des"riptive Statisti"s, then
Fre/uen"ies"
B" +hoose and highlight the categorical !ariales you are interested in (e"g"
se%)"(o!e these into the ,ariales o%"
<" +lick on the Statisti"s button" 5n the 7ispersion section tick %inimum and
%a!imum" +lick on Continue and then O0"
%ontinuous variables
Procedure for otaining descripti!e statistics for continuous !ariales
A" &rom the menu click on- #nal.e, then click on Des"riptive Statisti"s,
then Des"riptives"
B" +lick on all the continuous !ariales that you wish to otain descripti!e
statistics for" +lick on the arrow utton to mo!e them into the ,ariales o%
(e"g" age)"
<" +lick on the 6ptions utton" +lick on mean, standard de!iation, minimum,
ma%imum, skewness, kurtosis"
=" +lick on +ontinue, and then 6>"
Note on s+ewness and +urtosis
5nformation on skewness and kurtosis may e needed if these !ariales are to e
used in parametric statistical techni9ues (e"g" t$tests, analysis of !ariance)" The
skewness !alue pro!ides an indication of the symmetry of the distriution" >urtosis,
on the other hand, pro!ides information aout the 2peakedness4 of the distriution"
5f the distriution is perfectly normal, you would otain a skewness and kurtosis
!alue of K (rather an uncommon occurrence in the social sciences)" Positi!e
skewness !alues indicate positi!e skew (scores clustered to the left at the low
!alues)" 8egati!e skewness !alues indicate a clustering of scores at the high end
(right$hand side of a graph)" Positi!e kurtosis !alues indicate that the distriution is
rather peaked (clustered in the centre), with long thin tails" >urtosis !alues elow K
indicate a distriution that is relati!ely flat (too many cases in the e%tremes)" 0ith
reasonaly large samples, skewness will not 2make a sustanti!e difference in the
analysis4 (Taachnick L &idell, BKKA, p" F=)" >urtosis can result in an underestimate
of the !ariance, ut this risk is also reduced with a large sample (BKKM cases- see
Taachnick L &idell, BKKA, p" F@)"
.sing graphs to describe and e!plore the data
/istograms
?istograms are used to display the distriution of a single continuous !ariale (e"g"
age, percei!ed stress scores)"
Pro"edure for "reating a histogram
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- Nraphs, then click on
?istogram"
B" +lick on your !ariale of interest and mo!e it into the ,ariale o%" This
should e a continuous !ariale (e"g" total percei!ed stress)"
<" +lick on 7isplay normal cur!e" This option will gi!e you the distriution of
your !ariale and, superimposed o!er the top, how a normal cur!e for this
distriution would look"
=" 5f you wish to gi!e your graph a title click on the Titles utton and type the
desired title in the o% (e"g" ?istogram of Percei!ed Stress scores)"
@" +lick on Continue, and then O0"
0ar graphs
#ar graphs can e simple or !ery comple%, depending on how many !ariales you
wish to include"
Procedure for creating a ar graph
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- Nraphs, then #ar"
B" +lick on +lustered"
<" 5n the 7ata in chart are section, click on Summaries for groups of cases"
+lick on 7efine"
=" 5n the #ars represent o%, click on 6ther summary function"
@" +lick on the continuous !ariale you are interested in (e"g" total percei!ed
stress)" This should appear in the o% listed as (ean (Total Percei!ed Stress)"
This indicates that the mean on the Percei!ed Stress Scale for the different
groups will e displayed"
E" +lick on your first categorical !ariale (e"g" agegp<)" +lick on the arrow
utton to mo!e it into the +ategory a%is o%" This !ariale will appear across
the ottom of your ar graph (O a%is)"
F" +lick on another categorical !ariale (e"g" se%) and mo!e it into the 7efine
+lusters y- o%" This !ariale will e represented in the legend"
G" +lick on O0"
Scatterplots
The scatterplot will gi!e you an indication of whether your !ariales are related in a
linear (straight$line) or cur!ilinear fashion" The scatterplot will also indicate whether
your !ariales are positi!ely related or negati!ely related" The scatterplot also
pro!ides a general indication of the strength of the relationship etween your two
!ariales"
Pro"edure for "reating a s"atterplot
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- Nraphs, then on Scatter"
B" +lick on Simple and then 7efine"
<" +lick on your first !ariale, usually the one you consider is the dependent
!ariale,
=" +lick on the arrow to mo!e it into the o% laeled / a%is" This !ariale will
appear on the !ertical a%is"
@" (o!e your other !ariale (e"g" total P+65SS) into the o% laeled O a%is" This
!ariale will appear on the horizontal a%is"
E" /ou can also ha!e SPSS mark each of the points according to some other
categorical !ariale (e"g" se%)" (o!e this !ariale into the Set (arkers y-
o%" This will display males and females using different markers"
F" (o!e the 57 !ariale in the Cael +ases y- o%" This will allow you to find
out the 57 numer of a case from the graph if you find an outlier"
G" 5f you wish to attach a title to the graph, click on the Titles utton" Type in
the desired title and click on +ontinue"
P" +lick on 6>"
#anipulating the data
D#N2E3 #4E3T
(ake sure you ha!e a second copy of your data set" 5f you make a mistake here
you will lose or corrupt your original data" Therefore, it is essential that you ha!e a
ackup copy" )ememer that, unlike other spreadsheet programs (e"g" *%cel),
SPSS does not automatically recalculate !alues if you add e%tra cases or if you
make changes to any of the !alues in the data file" Therefore you should perform
the procedures illustrated in this chapter only when you ha!e a complete (and
clean) data file
%alculating total scale scores
#efore you can perform statistical analyses on your data set you need to calculate
total scale scores for any scales used in your study" This in!ol!es two steps-
. Step A- re!ersing any negati!ely worded items
A" &rom the menu, click on- Transform, then click on )ecode, then 5nto Same
,ariales"
B" Select the items you want to re!erse (opB, op=, opE)" (o!e these into the
,ariales o%"
<" +lick on the 6ld and new !alues utton" 5n the 6ld !alue section, type A in the
,alue o%" 5n the 8ew !alue section, type @ in the ,alue o% (this will change all
scores that were originally scored as A to a @)"
=" +lick on 'dd" This will place the instruction (A1@) in the o% laelled 6ld Q 8ew"
@" )epeat the same procedure for the remaining scores, for e%ample-
6ld !alue1type in B 8ew !alue1type in = 'dd
6ld !alue1type in < 8ew !alue1type in < 'dd
6ld !alue1type in = 8ew !alue1type in B 'dd
6ld !alue1type in @ 8ew !alue1type in A 'dd
'lways doule$check the item numers that you specify for recoding and the old
and new !alues that you enter" 8ot all scales use a @$point scale- some ha!e =
possile responses, some E and some F"+heck that you ha!e re!ersed all the
possile !alues"
E" 0hen you are asolutely sure, click on +ontinue and then 6>"
'arning" 6nce you click on 6> your original data will e changed fore!er"
. Step B- instructing SPSS to add together scores from all the items that make up
the suscale or scale"
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- Transform, then click on
+ompute"
B" 5n the Target !ariale o% type in the new name you wish to gi!e to the total
scale scores (it is useful to use a T prefi% to indicate total scores as this makes
them easier to find in the alphaetical list of !ariales when you are doing your
analyses)"
)mportant. (ake sure you do not accidentally use a !ariale name that has
already een used in the data set" 5f you do, you will lose all the original data1
potential disaster; so check your codeook"
<" +lick on the Type and Cael utton" +lick in the Cael o% and type in a
description of the scale (e"g" total optimism)" +lick on +ontinue"
=" &rom the list of !ariales on the left$hand side, click on the first item in the scale
(opA)"
@" +lick on the arrow utton Q to mo!e it into the 8umeric *%pression o%"
E" +lick on M on the calculator"
F" +lick on the second item in the scale" +lick on the arrow utton Q to mo!e the
item into the o%"
G" +lick on M on the calculator and repeat the process until all scale items appear in
the o%"
P" 7oule$check that all items are correct and that there are M signs in the correct
places" +lick 6>"
Note, )f an items had missing data( the overall s"ore will also be missing(
#lwas re"ord details of an new variables that ou "reate in our
"odeboo+. Spe"if the new variable*s name( what it represents and full
details of what was done to "al"ulate it. )f an items were reversed( this
should be spe"ified along with details of whi"h items were added to "reate
the s"ore.
%ollapsing a continuous variable into groups
&or some analyses (e"g" 'nalysis of ,ariance) you may wish to di!ide the
sample into e9ual groups according to respondents4 scores on some !ariale
(e"g" to gi!e low, medium and high scoring groups)" ,isual #inning to
identify suitale cut$off points to reak the continuous !ariale age into
three appro%imately e9ual groups" The same techni9ue could e used to
create a 2median split4- that is, to di!ide the sample into two groups, using
the median as the cut$off point" 6nce the cut$off points are identified, ,isual
#inning will create a new (additional) categorical !ariale that has only three
!alues, corresponding to the three age ranges chosen" This techni9ue lea!es
the original !ariale age, measured as a continuous !ariale, intact so that
you can use it for other analyses"
Procedure for collapsing a continuous !ariale into groups
A" Transform, and choose Visual 5inning"
B" Select the continuous !ariale that you want to use (e"g" age)" Transfer it
into the ,ariales to #and o%" +lick on the +ontinue utton"
<" 5n the ,isual #inning screen that appears, click on the !ariale to
highlight it" ' histogram, showing the distriution of age scores should
appear"
=" 't the section at the top laelled #anded ,ariale type in the name for the
new categorical !ariale that you will create (e"g" 'geand<)"/ou can also
change the suggested lael that is shown (e"g" to age in < groups)"
@" +lick on utton laelled (ake +utpoints, and then 6>" 5n the dialogue o%
that appears click on the option *9ual Percentiles #ased on Scanned +ases"
5n the o% 8umer of +utpoints specify a numer one less than the numer
of groups that you want (e"g" if you want three groups, type in B for
cutpoints)" 5n the 0idth (R) section elow you will then see <<"<< appear1
this means that SPSS will try to put <<"< per cent of the sample in each
group" +lick on the 'pply utton"
E" +lick on the (ake Caels utton ack in the main dialogue o%" This will
automatically generate !alue laels for each of the new groups created"/ou
can modify these if you wish y clicking in the cells of the Nrid"
F" +lick on 6> and a new !ariale ('geand<) will appear at the end of your
data file (go ack to your 7ata *ditor window, choose the ,ariale ,iew ta,
and it should e at the ottom)"
G" )un 7escripti!es, &re9uencies on your newly created !ariale to check the
numer of cases in each of the categories"
%ollapsing the number of categories of a categorical variable
There are some situations where you may want or need to reduce or collapse the
numer of categories of a categorical !ariale" /ou may want to do this for research
or theoretical reasons (e"g" collapsing the marital status into ;ust two categories
representing people 2in a relationship4I2not in a relationship4) or you may make the
decision after looking at the data"
Procedure for recoding a categorical !ariale
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on Transform, then on )ecode, then
on 5nto 7ifferent ,ariales" ((ake sure you select 2different !ariales4, as this
retains the original !ariale for other analyses)"
B" Select the !ariale you wish to recode (e"g" educ)" 5n the 8ame o% type a name
for the new !ariale that will e created (e"g" educrec)" Type in an e%tended lael if
you wish in the Cael section" +lick on the utton laelled +hange"
<" +lick on the utton laelled 6ld and 8ew ,alues"
=" 5n the section 6ld ,alue you will see a o% laelled ,alue" Type in the first code
or !alue of your current !ariale (e"g" A)" 5n the 8ew ,alue section type in the new
!alue that will e used (or, if the same one is to e used type that in)" 5n this case
5 will recode to the same !alue, so 5 will type A in oth the 6ld ,alue and 8ew ,alue
section" +lick on the 'dd utton"
@" &or the second !alue 5 would type B in the 6ld ,alue, ut in the 8ew ,alue 5
would type A" This will recode all the !alues of oth A and B from the original coding
into one group in the new !ariale to e created with a !alue of A"
E" &or the third !alue of the original !ariale 5 would type A in the 6ld ,alue and B
in the 8ew ,alue" This is ;ust to keep the !alues in the new !ariale in se9uence"
+lick on 'dd" )epeat for all the remaining !alues of the original !alues" 5n the tale
6ld8ew you should see the following codes for this e%ample- AA; BA; <B;
=<; @=; E@"
F" +lick on +ontinue"
G" No to your 7ata *ditor window and choose the ,ariale ,iew ta" Type in
appropriate !alues laels to represent the new !alues (ADdid not complete high
school, BDcompleted high school, <Dsome additional training, =Dcompleted
undergrad uni, @Dcompleted postgrad uni)" )ememer, these will e different from
the codes used for the original !ariale, and it is important that you don4t mi% them
up"
Correlation
+orrelation analysis is used to descrie the strength and direction of the linear
relationship etween two !ariales" Pearson product$moment coefficient is designed
for inter!al le!el (continuous) !ariales" 5t can also e used if you ha!e one
continuous !ariale (e"g" scores on a measure of self$esteem) and one dichotomous
!ariale (e"g" se%- (I&)" Pearson correlation coefficients (r) can take on only !alues
from SA to MA" The sign out the front indicates whether there is a positi!e
correlation (as one !ariale increases, so too does the other) or a negati!e
correlation (as one !ariale increases, the other decreases)" The size of the
asolute !alue (ignoring the sign) pro!ides an indication of the strength of the
relationship" There are a numer of issues associated with the use of correlation"
These include the effect of non$linear relationships, outliers, restriction of range,
correlation !ersus causality and statistical !ersus practical significance"
Details of e!ample
'e will be using the surve data "alled 6776 8.S. 2eneral So"ial Surve in
the installed SPSS.
?ypothesis
?o- There is no significant relationship etween le!el of educational 9ualification
and 6ccupational Prestige
?A- There is a significant relationship etween le!el of educational 9ualification
and 6ccupational Prestige
Preliminar analses for "orrelation
Pro"edure for "al"ulating Pearson produ"t9moment "orrelation
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- 'nalyze, then click on
+orrelate, then on #i!ariate"
B" Select your two !ariales and mo!e them into the o% marked ,ariales (e"g"
total percei!ed stress, total P+65SS)"/ou can list a whole range of !ariales here,
not ;ust two" 5n the resulting matri%, the correlation etween all possile pairs of
!ariales will e listed" This can e 9uite large if you list more than ;ust a few
!ariales"
<" +heck that the Pearson o% and the B tail o% ha!e a cross in them" The two$tail
test of significance means that you are not making any specific prediction
concerning the direction of the relationship etween the !ariales
(positi!eInegati!e)"/ou can choose a one$tail test of significance if you ha!e
reasons to support a specific direction"
=" +lick on the 6ptions utton"
&or (issing ,alues, click on the *%clude cases pairwise o%"
Tnder 6ptions you can also otain means, standard de!iations if you wish" +lick on
+ontinue"
@" +lick 6>"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow"

Highest Year of
School Completed
R's Occupational Prestige
Score (1980
Highest Year of School Completed Pearson Correlation 1 !"#0($$
Sig! (#%tailed
!000
&
1"10 1'1"
Respondent's Occupational
Prestige Score (1980
Pearson Correlation
!"#0($$ 1
Sig! (#%tailed
!000
& 1'1" 1'18
$$ Correlation is significant at the 0!01 le(el (#%tailed!
)nterpretation of output from "orrelation
A +hecking the information aout the sample (8)
B 7etermining the direction of the relationship ($!e or M!e)
< 7etermining the strength of the relationship (the !alue of r)
= +alculating the coefficient of determination
@ 'ssessing the significance le!el
Presenting the results from "orrelation
The results of the ao!e e%ample could e presented in a research report as
follows-
The relationship etween le!el of educational 9ualification (as measured y the
?ighest /ear of School +ompleted) and 6ccupational Prestige (as measured y the
)espondentUs 6ccupational Prestige Score) was in!estigated using Pearson product$
moment correlation coefficient" There was a strong, negati!e correlation etween
the two !ariales VrDS"@B, nDA=A@, pW"KKK@X, with high le!els of educational
9ualification associated with high le!els of 6ccupational Prestige"
Comparing the "orrelation "oeffi"ients for two groups
Sometimes when doing correlational research you may want to compare the
strength of the correlation coefficients for two separate groups" &or e%ample, you
may want to look at the relationship etween educational 9ualification and
6ccupational Prestige for males and females separately"
Pro"edure for "omparing "orrelation "oeffi"ients for two groups of sub$e"ts
'- Split the sample
A" (ake sure you ha!e the 7ata *ditor window open on the screen in front of you"
(5f you currently ha!e the ,iewer 0indow open, click on 0indow and choose the
SPSS 7ata *ditor")
B" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- 7ata, then click on Split &ile"
<" +lick on +ompare Nroups"
=" (o!e the grouping !ariale (e"g" se%) into the o% laelled Nroups ased on"
+lick on 6>"
@" This will split the sample y se% and repeat any analyses that follow for these
two groups separately"
#- +orrelation
A" &ollow the steps in the earlier section of this chapter to re9uest the correlation
etween your two !ariales of interest (e"g" educational 9ualification, 6ccupational
Prestige)"
These will e reported separately for the two groups"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow"
)espondentUs Se%
?ighest /ear of
School
+ompleted
)Us 6ccupational
Prestige Score
(APGK)
(ale ?ighest /ear of School
+ompleted
Pearson +orrelation
A "=P=(HH)
Sig" (B$tailed) "KKK
8
E<< EAP
)Us 6ccupational Prestige
Score (APGK)
Pearson +orrelation
"=P=(HH) A
Sig" (B$tailed)
"KKK
8
EAP EBA
&emale ?ighest /ear of School
+ompleted
Pearson +orrelation
A "@=K(HH)
Sig" (B$tailed)
"KKK
8
GFF FPE
)Us 6ccupational Prestige
Score (APGK)
Pearson +orrelation
"@=K(HH) A
Sig" (B$tailed)
"KKK
8 FPE FPF
$$ Correlation is significant at the 0!01 le(el (#%tailed!
:Please remember, when you ha!e finished looking at males and females
separately you will need to turn the Split &ile option off" 5t stays in place until you
specifically turn it off" To do this, +lick on Data, Split File and click on the first
utton- #nal.e all "ases( do not "reate groups" +lick on O0"X
Partial "orrelation
Partial correlation is similar to Pearson product$moment correlation, e%cept that it
allows you to control for an additional !ariale" This is usually a !ariale that you
suspect might e influencing your two !ariales of interest" #y statistically
remo!ing the influence of this confounding !ariale, you can get a clearer and more
accurate indication of the relationship etween your two !ariales"
Details of e!ample
Procedure for partial correlation
A" &rom the menu at the top of the screen click on- 'nalyze, then click on
+orrelate, then on Partial"
B" +lick on the two continuous !ariales that you want to correlate (e"g" ?ighest
/ear of School +ompleted, 6ccupational Prestige score)" +lick on the arrow to mo!e
these into the ,ariales o%"
<" +lick on the !ariale that you wish to control for (e"g" age)" (o!e into the
+ontrolling for o%"
=" +hoose whether you want one$tail or two$tail significance (two$tail was used in
this e%ample)"
@" +lick on 6ptions"
. 5n the (issing ,alues section click on *%clude cases pairwise"
. 5n the Statistics section click on Yero 6rder correlations"
E" +lick on +ontinue and then 6>"
+ontrol ,ariales
?ighest
/ear of
School
+ompleted
)Us
6ccupationa
l Prestige
Score
(APGK)
'ge of
)espondent
$none$(a) ?ighest /ear of
School +ompleted
+orrelation
A"KKK "@BK $"B@=
Significance (B$tailed) " "KKK "KKK
df K A=A< A@KE
)Us 6ccupational
Prestige Score
(APGK)
+orrelation
"@BK A"KKK "KKF
Significance (B$tailed) "KKK " "FPP
df A=A< K A=A=
'ge of
)espondent
+orrelation
$"B@= "KKF A"KKK
Significance (B$tailed) "KKK "FPP "
df A@KE A=A= K
'ge of
)espondent
?ighest /ear of
School +ompleted
+orrelation
A"KKK "@<P
Significance (B$tailed) " "KKK
df K A=AB
)Us 6ccupational
Prestige Score
(APGK)
+orrelation
"@<P A"KKK
Significance (B$tailed) "KKK "
df A=AB K
)nterpretation of output from partial "orrelation
The output pro!ides you with a tale made up of two sections-
A" 5n the top half of the tale is the normal Pearson product$moment correlation
matri% etween your two !ariales of interest (e"g" ?ighest /ear of School
+ompleted and 6ccupational Prestige), not controlling for your other !ariale" 5n
this case the correlation is "@BK" The word 2none4 in the left$hand column indicates
that no control !ariale is in operation"
B" The ottom half of the tale repeats the same set of correlation analyses, ut
this time controlling for (taking out) the effects of your control !ariale (e"g" age)"
5n this case the new partial correlation is "@<P" /ou should compare these two sets
of correlation coefficients to see whether controlling for the additional !ariale had
any impact on the relationship etween your two !ariales" 5n this e%ample there
was only a small increase in the strength of the correlation (from "@BK to "@<P)" This
suggests that the oser!ed relationship etween ?ighest /ear of School +ompleted
and 6ccupational Prestige is not due merely to the influence of age"
Presenting the results from partial "orrelation
Partial correlation was used to e%plore the relationship etween educational
9ualification (as measured y ?ighest /ear of School +ompleted) and 6ccupational
Prestige (6ccupational Prestige score), while controlling for age" There was a
strong, positi!e, partial correlation etween educational 9ualification and
6ccupational Prestige VrDK"@<P, nDA=AB, pW"KKK@X, with high le!els of educational
9ualification eing associated with higher le!els of 6ccupational Prestige" 'n
inspection of the zero order correlation (rD"@BK) suggested that controlling for age
had !ery little effect on the strength of the relationship etween these two
!ariales"
%ultiple 3egression
(ultiple regression is not ;ust one techni9ue ut a family of techni9ues that can e
used to e%plore the relationship etween one continuous dependent !ariale and a
numer of independent !ariales or predictors (usually continuous)" (ultiple
regression is ased on correlation, ut allows a more sophisticated e%ploration of
the interrelationship among a set of !ariales" (ultiple regression can e used to
address a !ariety of research 9uestions" 5t can tell you how well a set of !ariales is
ale to predict a particular outcome"
Some of the main types of research 9uestions that multiple regression can e used
to address are-
. ?ow well a set of !ariales is ale to predict a particular outcome;
. 0hich !ariale in a set of !ariales is the est predictor of an outcome; and
. 0hether a particular predictor !ariale is still ale to predict an outcome when the
effects of another !ariale are controlled for
%a$or tpes of multiple regression
A Standard multiple regression
B ?ierarchical multiple regression
< Stepwise multiple regression
#ssumptions of multiple regression
Details of e!ample
To illustrate the use of multiple regression we will e%amine the effect of 'ge of
)espondent, ?ighest /ear of School +ompleted, ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$
father, ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$ (other, ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$
Spouse on )espondentUs 6ccupational Prestige"
?o- 'ge of )espondent, ?ighest /ear of School +ompleted, ?ighest /ear School
+ompleted$ father, ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$ (other and ?ighest /ear
School +ompleted$ Spouse will not significantly predict )espondentUs
6ccupational Prestige"
?o- 'ge of )espondent, ?ighest /ear of School +ompleted, ?ighest /ear School
+ompleted$ father, ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$ (other and ?ighest /ear
School +ompleted$ Spouse will significantly predict )espondentUs
6ccupational Prestige"
To e%plore this hypothesis, we will e using standard multiple regression
Standard multiple regression
Procedure for standard multiple regression
A" 'nalyze, then click on )egression, then on Cinear"
B" +lick on your continuous dependent !ariale ()espondentUs 6ccupational Prestige
score and mo!e it into the 7ependent o%"
<" +lick on your independent !ariales ('ge of )espondent, ?ighest /ear of School
+ompleted; ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$ father- ?ighest /ear School
+ompleted$ (other, ?ighest /ear School +ompleted$ Spouse) and mo!e them into
the 5ndependent o%"
=" &or (ethod, make sure *nter is selected (this will gi!e you standard multiple
regression)"
@" +lick on the Statistics utton"
. Tick the o% marked *stimates, +onfidence 5nter!als, (odel fit, 7escripti!es, Part
and partial correlations and +ollinearity diagnostics"
. 5n the )esiduals section tick the +asewise diagnostics and 6utliers outside <
standard de!iations"
. +lick on +ontinue"
E" +lick on the 6ptions utton" 5n the (issing ,alues section click on *%clude cases
pairwise"
F" +lick on 6>"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow"
)odel R R S*uare
+d,usted R
S*uare
Std! -rror of
the -stimate
1 !"'"(a !#9. !#90 11!00.
a Predictors/ (Constant0 Highest Year School Completed0 Spouse0 +ge of Respondent0 Highest Year School
Completed0 1ather0 Highest Year of School Completed0 Highest Year School Completed0 )other
2 3ependent 4aria2le/ R's Occupational Prestige Score (1980
Cook in the (odel Summary o% and check the !alue gi!en under the heading
) S9uare" This tells you how much of the !ariance in the dependent !ariale
(percei!ed stress) is e%plained y the model (which includes the !ariales of Total
(astery and Total P+65SS)" 5n this case the !alue is "=EG" *%pressed as a
percentage (multiply y AKK, y shifting the decimal point two places to the right),
this means that our model (which includes (astery and P+65SS) e%plains =E"G per
cent of the !ariance in percei!ed stress" /ou will notice that SPSS also pro!ides an
'd;usted ) S9uare !alue in the output" 0hen a small sample is in!ol!ed, the )
s9uare !alue in the sample tends to e a rather optimistic o!erestimation of the
true !alue in the population (see Taachnick L &idell, BKKA, p" A=F)" The 'd;usted )
s9uare statistic 2corrects4 this !alue to pro!ide a etter estimate of the true
population !alue" 5f you ha!e a small sample you may wish to consider reporting
this !alue, rather than the normal ) S9uare !alue"
To assess the statistical significance of the result it is necessary to look in the tale
laelled '86,'" This tests the null hypothesis that multiple ) in the population
e9uals K" The model in this e%ample reaches statistical significance (Sig D "KKK, this
really means pW"KKK@)"
ANOVA(b)
)odel
Sum of
S*uares df )ean S*uare 1 Sig!
1 Regression #95.#!89# " "8.'!".8 '8!'86 !000(a

Residual
6966.!'5. "." 1#1!161

7otal
990'0!5#9 "80
a Predictors/ (Constant0 Highest Year School Completed0 Spouse0 +ge of Respondent0 Highest Year School
Completed0 1ather0 Highest Year of School Completed0 Highest Year School Completed0 )other
2 3ependent 4aria2le/ R's Occupational Prestige Score (1980
)
od
el
8nstandardi9e
d Coefficients
Standar
di9ed
Coeffici
ents t Sig!
9": Confidence
;nter(al for < Correlations
Collinearit=
Statistics
<
Std!
-rror <eta
>o?er
<ound
8pper
<ound
@ero%
order Partial Part
7olera
nce 4;1 <
Std!
-rror
1 (Constant 6!'16 5!11# #!06# !0'0 !50' 1#!"#9
+ge of
Respondent
!09. !0#9 !15# 5!55' !001 !0'0 !1"5 !00. !158 !11. !.86 1!#.5
Highest Year
of School
Completed
#!551 !#0" !"5#
11!58
.
!000 1!9#9 #!.55 !"#0 !'#9 !598 !"60 1!.8.
Highest Year
School
Completed0
1ather
%!1'9 !1"9 %!0'. %!9'1 !5'. %!'61 !16# !161 %!059
%!05
5
!'88 #!0"0
Highest Year
School
Completed0
)other
%!09# !18. %!0#' %!'9' !6#1 %!'"9 !#.' !1'8 %!0#1
%!01
.
!"00 #!001
Highest Year
School
Completed0
Spouse
!56' !196 !08" 1!860 !065 %!0#0 !.'9 !5"" !0.. !06" !"8# 1!.18
The ne%t thing we want to know is which of the !ariales included in the model
contriuted to the prediction of the dependent !ariale" 0e find this information
in the output o% laelled +oefficients" Cook in the column laelled #eta under
Standardised +oefficients" To compare the different !ariales it is important that
you look at the standardised coefficients, not the unstandardised ones"
2Standardised4 means that these !alues for each of the different !ariales ha!e
een con!erted to the same scale so that you can compare them" 5f you were
interested in constructing a regression e9uation, you would use the unstandardised
coefficient !alues listed as #"
5n this case we are interested in comparing the contriution of each independent
!ariale; therefore we will use the eta !alues" Cook down the #eta column and
find which eta !alue is the largest (ignoring any negati!e signs out the front)"
5n this case the largest eta coefficient is S"=B=, which is for Total (astery" This
means that this !ariale makes the strongest uni9ue contriution to e%plaining
the dependent !ariale, when the !ariance e%plained y all other !ariales in the
model is controlled for" The #eta !alue for Total P+65SS was slightly lower
(S"<E), indicating that it made less of a contriution" &or each of these !ariales,
check the !alue in the column marked Sig" This
tells you whether this !ariale is making a statistically significant uni9ue
contriution to the e9uation" This is !ery dependent on which !ariales are
included in the e9uation, and how much o!erlap there is among the independent
!ariales" 5f the Sig" !alue is less than "K@ ("KA, "KKKA, etc"), then the !ariale is
making a significant uni9ue contriution to the prediction of the dependent
!ariale" 5f greater than "K@, then you can conclude that that !ariale is not making
a significant uni9ue contriution to the prediction of your dependent
!ariale"
Presenting the results from multiple regression
There are a numer of different ways of presenting the results of multiple
regression, depending on the type of analysis conducted and the nature of the
research 9uestion" 5t would e a good idea to look for e%amples of the presentation
of different statistical analysis in the ;ournals rele!ant to your topic area"
4ogisti" regression
#ssumptions
Details of e!ample
Data preparation, "oding of responses
)nterpretion of output from logisti" regression
Presenting the results from logisti" regression
Fa"tor analsis
Steps involved in fa"tor analsis
Details of e!ample
Pro"edure for fa"tor analsis
'arning
Presenting the results from fa"tor analsis
T9tests
)ndependent9samples t9test
'n independent$samples t$test is used when you want to compare the mean score,
on some continuous !ariale, for two different groups of su;ects"
Details of e!ample
To illustrate the use of this techni9ue, the sur!ey"sa! data file (which is pro!ided on
the wesite accompanying this ook; see p" %i) will e used" This e%ample e%plores
se% differences in self$esteem scores" The two !ariales used are S*O (with males
coded as A, and females coded as B) and TSC&*ST, which is the total score that
participants recorded on a ten$item self$esteem scale
ho 5s there a significant difference in the mean self$esteem scores for males and
females3
Pro"edure for independent9samples t9test
A" 'nalyze, then click on +ompare means, then on 5ndependent Samples T$test"
B" (o!e the dependent (continuous) !ariale (e"g" total self$esteem) into the area
laelled Test !ariale"
<" (o!e the independent !ariale (categorical) !ariale (e"g" se%) into the section
laeled Nrouping !ariale"
=" +lick on 7efine groups and type in the numers used in the data set to code each
group" 5n the current data file ADmales, BDfemales; therefore, in the Nroup A o%,
type A; and in the Nroup B o%, type B"
@" +lick on Continue and then O0"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow"
Group Statistics

Respondent's
Sex N Mean
Std.
Deviation
Std.
Error
Mean
R's Occupational
Prestige Score
(198!
Male "#1 $%.8& 1%.#'8 .&%%

(e)ale
'9' $#.## 1#.8"$ .$&"
Independent Samples Test

*evene's +est ,or
E-ualit. o,
/ariances t0test ,or E-ualit. o, Means

(
Sig. t d,
Sig.
(#0
tailed!
Mean
Di,,erence
Std. Error
Di,,erence
9&1
2on,idence
3nterval o,
t4e
Di,,erence
R's
Occupational
Prestige
Score (198!
E-ual
variances
assu)ed
.181 ."' #.%$% 1$1" .19 1."%" ."98 .#"' %."

E-ual
variances
not
assu)ed
#.%%$
1%11.9$# .# 1."%" .'1 .#"1 %.1#
The first section of the 5ndependent Samples Test output o% gi!es you the results
of Ce!ene4s test for e9uality of !ariances" This tests whether the !ariance (!ariation)
of scores for the two groups (males and females) is the same" The outcome of this
test determines which of the t$!alues that SPSS pro!ides is the correct one for you
to use"
. 5f your Sig" !alue is larger than "K@ (e"g" "KF, "AK), you should use the first line in
the tale, which refers to *9ual !ariances assumed"
. 5f the significance le!el of Ce!ene4s test is pD"K@ or less (e"g" "KA, "KKA), this
means that the !ariances for the two groups (malesIfemales) are not the same"
Therefore your data !iolate the assumption of e9ual !ariance" 7on4t panic1 SPSS is
!ery kind and pro!ides you with an alternati!e t$!alue which compensates for the
fact that your !ariances are not the same" /ou should use the information in the
second line of the t$test tale, which refers to *9ual !ariances not assumed"
5n the e%ample gi!en in the output ao!e, the significance le!el for Ce!ene4s test
is "KE" This is larger than the cut$off of "K@" This means that the assumption of
e9ual !ariances has not een !iolated; therefore, when you report your t$!alue, you
will use the one pro!ided in the first line of the tale"
Step <- 'ssessing differences etween the groups
To find out whether there is a significant difference etween your two groups, refer
to the column laelled Sig" (B$tailed), which appears under the section
laelled t$test for e9uality of means" Two !alues are gi!en" 6ne for e9ual !ariance,
the other for une9ual !ariance" +hoose whiche!er your Ce!ene4s test result says
you should use (see Step B ao!e)"
. 5f the !alue in the Sig" (B$tailed) column is e9ual or less than "K@ (e"g" "K<, "KA, "
KKA), then there is a significant difference in the mean scores on your dependent
!ariale for each of the two groups"
. 5f the !alue is ao!e "K@ (e"g" "KE, "AK), there is no significant difference etween
the two groups"
5n the e%ample presented in the output ao!e the Sig" (B$tailed) !alue is "AK@" 's
this !alue is ao!e the re9uired cut$off of "K@, you conclude that there is not a
statistically significant difference in the mean self$esteem scores for males and
females"
The results of the analsis "ould be presented as follows-
'n independent$samples t$test was conducted to compare the self$esteem scores
for males and females" There was no significant difference in scores for males
((D<="KB, S7D="PA) and females V(D<<"AF, S7D@"FA; t(=<=)DA"EB, pD"AAX" The
magnitude of the differences in the means was !ery small (eta s9uaredD"KKE)"
Paired9samples t9test
Paired$samples t$test (also referred to as repeated measures) is used when you
ha!e only one group of people (or companies, or machines etc") and you collect
data from them on two different occasions, or under two different conditions"
Pre$testIpost$test e%perimental designs are an e%ample of the type of situation
where this techni9ue is appropriate" /ou assess each person on some continuous
measure at Time A, and then again at Time B, after e%posing them to some
e%perimental manipulation or inter!ention" This approach is used also when you
ha!e matched pairs of su;ects (i"e" each person is matched with another on
specific criteria, such as age, se%)" 6ne of the pair is e%posed to 5nter!ention A and
the other is e%posed to 5nter!ention B" Scores on a continuous measure are then
compared for each pair"
Paired$samples t$tests can also e used when you measure the same person in
terms of hisIher response to two different 9uestions (e"g" asking himIher to rate
the importance in terms of life satisfaction on two dimensions of life- health,
financial security)" 5n this case, oth dimensions should e rated on the same scale
(e"g" from ADnot at all important to AKD!ery important)"
7etails of e%ample
To illustrate the use of paired$samples t$test 5 will e using the data from the file
laelled e%perim"sa!
Summary for paired$samples t$test
E!ample of resear"h /uestion- 5s there a significant change in participants4 fear
of statistics scores following participation in an inter!ention designed to increase
students4 confidence in their aility to successfully complete a statistics course3
7oes the inter!ention ha!e an impact on participants4 fear of statistics scores3
'hat ou need- 6ne set of su;ects (or matched pairs)" *ach person (or pair)
must pro!ide oth sets of scores" Two !ariales- one categorical independent
!ariale (in this case it is Time- with two different le!els Time A, Time B); and one
continuous, dependent !ariale (e"g" &ear of Statistics Test scores) measured on
two different occasions, or under different conditions"
'hat it does- ' paired$samples t$test will tell you whether there is a statistically
significant difference in the mean scores for Time A and Time B"
Non9parametri" alternative, 0ilco%on Signed )ank Test
Pro"edure for paired9samples t9test
A" 'nalyze, then click on +ompare (eans, then on Paired Samples T$test"
B" +lick on the two !ariales that you are interested in comparing for each su;ect
(e"g" fostA- fear of stats timeA, fostB- fear of stats timeB)"
<" 0ith oth of the !ariales highlighted, mo!e them into the o% laelled Paired
,ariales y clicking on the arrow utton" +lick on 6>"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow
)nterpretation of output from paired9samples t9test
There are two steps in!ol!ed in interpreting the results of this analysis"
Step A- Determining overall signifi"an"e
5n the tale laelled Paired Samples Test you need to look in the final column,
laelled Sig" (B$tailed)1this is your proaility !alue" 5f this !alue is less than "K@
(e"g" "K=, "KA, "KKA), then you can conclude that there is a significant difference
etween your two scores" 5n the e%ample gi!en ao!e the proaility !alue is "KKK"
This has actually een rounded down to three decimal places1it means that the
actual proaility !alue was less than "KKK@" This !alue is sustantially smaller than
our specified alpha !alue of "K@" Therefore, we can conclude that there is a
significant difference in the &ear of Statistics Test scores at Time A and at Time B"
Take note of the t$!alue (in this case, @"<P) and the degrees of freedom (dfDBP), as
you will need these when you report your results"
Step B- Comparing mean values
?a!ing estalished that there is a significant difference, the ne%t step is to find out
which set of scores is higher (Time A or Time B)" To do this, look in the first printout
o%, laelled Paired Samples Statistics" This o% gi!es you the (ean scores for each
of the two sets of scores" 5n our case, the mean &ear of Stats score at Time A was
=K"AF and the mean score at Time B was <F"@K" Therefore, we can conclude that
there was a significant decrease in &ear of Statistics Test scores from Time A (prior
to the inter!ention) to Time B (after the inter!ention)"
Presenting the results for paired9samples t9test
' paired$samples t$test was conducted to e!aluate the impact of the inter!ention
on students4 scores on the &ear of Statistics Test (&6ST)" There was a statistically
significant decrease in &6ST scores from Time A ((D=K"AF, S7D@"AE) to Time B
V(D<F"@, S7D@"A@, t(BP)D@"<P, pW"KKK@X"
One9wa analsis of varian"e
T$test is used to compare the scores of two different groups or conditions" 5n many
research situations, howe!er, while '86,' is used compare the mean scores of
more than two groups"
One9wa between9groups #NOV# with post9ho" tests
6ne$way etween$groups analysis of !ariance is used when you ha!e one
independent (grouping) !ariale with three or more le!els (groups) and one
dependent continuous !ariale" The 2one$way4 part of the title indicates there is only
one independent !ariale, and 2etween$groups4 means that you ha!e different
su;ects or cases in each of the groups"
Details of e!ample
To demonstrate the use of this techni9ue 5 will e using the sur!ey"sa! data file
included on the wesite accompanying this ook
Summary for one$way etween$groups '86,' with post$hoc tests
E!ample of resear"h /uestion- 5s there a difference in optimism scores for
young, middle aged and old su;ects3
'hat ou need, Two !ariales- one categorical independent !ariale with three or
more distinct categories" This can also e a continuous !ariale that has een
recoded to gi!e three e9ual groups (e"g" age group- su;ects di!ided into < age
categories, BP and younger, etween <K and ==, =@ or ao!e)" 'nd one continuous
dependent !ariale (e"g" optimism)"
'hat it does, 6ne$way '86,' will tell you whether there are significant
differences in the mean scores on the dependent !ariale across the three groups"
Post$hoc tests can then e used to find out where these differences lie"
Non9parametri" alternative, >ruskal$0allis Test"
Pro"edure for one9wa between9groups #NOV# with post9ho" tests
A" 'nalyze, then click on +ompare (eans, then on 6ne$way '86,'"
B" +lick on your dependent (continuous) !ariale (e"g" Total optimism)" (o!e this
into the o% marked 7ependent Cist y clicking on the arrow utton"
<" +lick on your independent, categorical !ariale (e"g" agegp<)" (o!e this into the
o% laelled &actor"
=" +lick the 6ptions utton and click on 7escripti!e, ?omogeneity of !ariance test,
#rown$&orsythe,0elsh and (eans Plot"
@" &or (issing !alues, make sure there is a dot in the option marked *%clude cases
analysis y analysis" 5f not, click on this option once" +lick on +ontinue"
E" +lick on the utton marked Post ?oc" +lick on Tukey"
F" +lick on +ontinue and then 6>"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow"
This tale gi!es oth etween$groups and within$groups sums of s9uares, degrees
of freedom etc" /ou will recognise these from your statistics ooks" The main thing
you are interested in is the column marked Sig" 5f the Sig" !alue is less than or
e9ual to "K@ (e"g" "K<, "KA, "KKA), then there is a significant difference somewhere
among the mean scores on your dependent !ariale for the three groups" This does
not tell you which group is different from which other group" The statistical
significance of the differences etween each pair of groups is pro!ided in the tale
laeled (ultiple +omparisons, which gi!es the results of the post$hoc tests"
The means for each group are gi!en in the 7escripti!es tale" 5n this e%ample the
o!erall Sig" !alue is "KA, which is less than "K@, indicating a statistically significant
result somewhere among the groups" ?a!ing recei!ed a statistically significant
difference, we can now look at the results of the post$hoc tests that we re9uested"
%ultiple "omparisons
/ou should look at this tale only if you found a significant difference in your o!erall
'86,'" That is, if the Sig" !alue was e9ual to or less than "K@" The posthoc tests in
this tale will tell you e%actly where the differences among the groups occur" Cook
down the column laelled (ean 7ifference" Cook for any asterisks (H) ne%t to the
!alues listed" 5f you find an asterisk, this means that the two groups eing
compared are significantly different from one another at the pW"K@ le!el" The e%act
significance !alue is gi!en in the column laelled Sig" 5n the results presented
ao!e, only group A and group < are statistically significantly different from one
another" That is, the AGSBP age group and the =@M age group differ significantly in
terms of their optimism scores"
Presenting the results from one9wa between9groups #NOV# with post9
ho" tests
The results of the one$way etween$groups analysis of !ariance with post$hoc tests
could e presented as follows-
' one$way etween$groups analysis of !ariance was conducted to e%plore the
impact of age on le!els of optimism, as measured y the Cife 6rientation test
(C6T)" Su;ects were di!ided into three groups according to their age (Nroup A- BP
or less; Nroup B- <K to ==; Nroup <- =@ and ao!e)"
There was a statistically significant difference at the pW"K@ le!el in C6T scores for
the three age groups V&(B, =<B)D="E, pD"KAX" 7espite reaching statistical
significance, the actual difference in mean scores etween the groups was 9uite
small" The effect size, calculated using eta s9uared, was "KB" Post$hoc comparisons
using the Tukey ?S7 test indicated that the mean score for Nroup A ((DBA"<E,
S7D="@@) was significantly different from Nroup < ((DBB"PE, S7D="=P)" Nroup B
((DBB"AK, S7D="A@) did not differ significantly from either Nroup A or <"
One9wa repeated measures #NOV#
5n a one$way repeated measures '86,' design each su;ect is e%posed to two or
more different conditions, or measured on the same continuous scale on three or
more occasions" 5t can also e used to compare respondents4 responses to two or
more different 9uestions or items" These 9uestions, howe!er, must e measured
using the same scale (e"g" ADstrongly disagree, to @Dstrongly agree)"
Details of e!ample
To demonstrate the use of this techni9ue, the data file laelled e%perim"sa!
(included on the wesite pro!ided with this ook; see p" %i) will e used"
Summary for one$way repeated measures '86,'
E!ample of resear"h /uestion- 5s there a change in confidence scores o!er the
three time periods3
'hat ou need, 6ne group of su;ects measured on the same scale on three
different occasions or under three different conditions" 6r each person measured on
three different 9uestions or items (using the same response scale)" This in!ol!es
two !ariales- one independent !ariale (categorical) (e"g" Time AI Time BI Time
<); and one dependent !ariale (continuous) (e"g" scores on the +onfidence test)"
'hat it does, This techni9ue will tell you if there is a significant difference
somewhere among the three sets of scores"
Non9parametri" alternative, &riedman Test"
Pro"edure for one9wa repeated measures #NOV#
A" 'nalyze, then click on Neneral Cinear (odel, then on )epeated (easures"
B" 5n the 0ithin Su;ect &actor 8ame o% type in a name that represents your
independent !ariale (e"g" Time or +ondition)" This is not an actual !ariale name,
;ust a lael you gi!e your independent !ariale"
<" 5n the 8umer of Ce!els o% type the numer of le!els or groups (time periods)
in!ol!ed (in this e%ample it is <)"
=" +lick 'dd"
@" +lick on the 7efine utton on the right$hand side"
E" Select the three !ariales that represent your repeated measures !ariale (e"g"
confidA, confidB, confid<)" +lick on the arrow utton to mo!e them into the 0ithin
Su;ects ,ariales o%"
F" +lick on the 6ptions o% at the ottom right of your screen"
G" Tick the 7escripti!e Statistics and *stimates of effect size o%es in the area
laelled 7isplay"
P" +lick on +ontinue and then 6>"
The output generated from this procedure is shown elow"
%ultivariate tests
5n this tale the !alue that you are interested in is 'il+s* 4ambda, also the
associated proaility !alue gi!en in the column laelled Sig. 'll of the multi!ariate
tests yield the same result, ut the most commonly reported statistic is 0ilks4
Camda" 5n this e%ample the !alue for 0ilks4 Camda is "B@, with a proaility !alue
of "KKK (which really means pW"KKK@)" The p !alue is less than "K@; therefore we
can conclude that there is a statistically significant effect for time" This suggests
that there was a change in confidence scores across the three different time
periods"
Presenting the results from one9wa repeated measures #NOV#
The results of a one$way repeated measures '86,' could e presented as follows-
' one$way repeated measures '86,' was conducted to compare scores on the
+onfidence in +oping with Statistics test at Time A (prior to the inter!ention), Time
B (following the inter!ention) and Time < (three$month follow$up)" The means and
standard de!iations are presented in Tale OO" There was a significant effect for
time V0ilks4 CamdaD"B@, &(B, BG)D=A"AF, pW"KKK@"
Two9wa between9groups #NOV#
Details of e!ample
)nterpretation of output from two9wa #NOV#
Presenting the results from two9wa #NOV#
#dditional analses if ou obtain a signifi"ant intera"tion effe"t
%i!ed between9within sub$e"ts analsis of varian"e
Details of e!ample
)nterpretation of output from mi!ed between9within #NOV#
Presenting the results from mi!ed between9within #NOV#
Non9parametri" statisti"s
Chi9s/uare
%ann9'hitne 8 Test
'il"o!on Signed 3an+ Test
0rus+al9'allis Test
Friedman Test
Spearman*s 3an+ Order Correlation