Getting Started with SPSS: Variables, Data Entry, Computation and Descriptive Statistics

Abstract

Description: This presentation is the first of three workshop sessions on quantitative data analysis with SPSS, delivered at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kampala International University. The session addresses the stage at which most postgraduate analytical problems originate: the definition and entry of data. It begins by distinguishing the Variable View from the Data View and establishing the principle that variables must be fully defined before any data are entered. It then covers the concept of a variable, its classification by role in a study (independent, dependent, mediating, moderating, control and extraneous) and by level of measurement (continuous and categorical), and the four scales of measurement with their mapping onto the SPSS Measure column. All eleven elements of the Variable View are treated in turn, with particular attention to Label, Values, Missing and Measure. The session then moves to data entry, computing scale scores from individual items using Transform and Compute Variable, reverse scoring negatively worded items, the identification and handling of missing data, and the production and interpretation of descriptive statistics. The presentation includes annotated mock SPSS output for the Variable View, the Data View, the Compute Variable dialogue and frequency and descriptives tables, together with a practice codebook and a set of common errors observed in student work. Keywords: SPSS; data entry; variable view; levels of measurement; scale of measurement; missing data; computing variables; reverse scoring; descriptive statistics; quantitative research methods; research training