Data View in Statistical Analysis

Defining Variables in SPSS

• Variable label: can assign descriptive labels up to 256 characters long (128 characters in double-byte languages); can contain spaces and reserved characters not allowed in variable names.
• Variable label will be printed on charts and reports instead of the variable name.
• Value label: provides a key for translating numeric data into meaningful values.
• Missing values: indicates which subset of the data will not be included in the data set.
• Alignment: controls the display of data values and/or value labels in the Data view; default alignment is right for numeric variables and left for string variables.

Measurement Levels

• Scale: numeric values on an interval or ratio scale.
• Ordinal: represents categories with some intrinsic order (string or numeric values).
• Nominal: represents categories with no intrinsic order (string or numeric values).

Entering Data in a New Data Set

• Data is entered manually into the spreadsheet one cell at a time.
• Each cell represents an observation.
• Information is entered into the cell when the active cell is changed.
• Can use mouse and keyboard keys to enter data.
• A period is used to indicate a missing value.

Creating and Manipulating Data in SPSS

• Data editor window is used to create and access data in SPSS.
• Can edit, move, delete, and copy results in a Microsoft Explorer-like environment.

Variable Name Rules

• Must begin with a letter.
• Remaining characters can be any letter, digit, period, or symbols @, #, _, or $.
• Cannot end with a period.
• Cannot contain blanks or special characters (e.g., !, ?, ', and *).
• Length cannot exceed 64 bytes.
• Each variable name must be unique.
• Reserved keywords cannot be used as variable names.

Data View

• Displays the actual data values or defined value labels.
• Rows are cases, each representing a case or observation.
• Columns are variables, each representing a variable or characteristic being measured.
• Cells contain values, each cell containing a single value of a variable for a case.
• Cells cannot contain formulas.
• Data file is rectangular, with no "empty" cells within the boundaries.

Variable View

• Contains descriptions of the attributes of each variable in the data file.
• Rows are variables, and columns are variable attributes.
• Can add or delete variables and modify attributes of variables, including variable name, data type, and descriptive labels.

Editing Data

• Can modify data values in the Data view in many ways, such as:
  • Changing data values
  • Cutting, copying, and pasting data values
  • Adding and deleting cases
  • Adding and deleting variables
  • Changing the order of variables

Saving a New Data Set

• Work performed on a data set only lasts during the current session.
• To retain the current data set, it must be saved to a file.
• Select Save from the File menu and specify the file name, path, and type (SPSS (*.sav)).

Importing Excel Files

• Excel files should have the same orientation of rows and columns as SPSS.
• Excel files can be imported into SPSS with the same file extension (.xls, .xlsx, .xslm).

Data Transformations

• Computing variables: can compute values for numeric or string variables using the Compute dialog box.
• Counting occurrences of values: creates a variable that counts the occurrences of the same value(s) in a list of variables for each case.
• Sorting cases: sorts cases based on the values of one or more sorting variables.
• Selecting cases: provides several methods for selecting a subgroup of cases based on criteria that include variables and complex expressions.
• Split file: splits the data file into separate groups for analysis based on the values of one or more grouping variables.