16MBA1649

EXPERIMENT-1

1. INTRODUCTION TO SPSS
SPSS Statistics is a software package used for logical batched and non-batched statistical
analysis. Long produced by SPSS Inc., it was acquired by IBM in 2009. The current versions
(2015) are officially named IBM SPSS Statistics. Companion products in the same family are
used for survey authoring and deployment (IBM SPSS Data Collection, now divested under
UNICOM Intelligence), data mining (IBM SPSS Modeler), text analytics, and collaboration and
deployment (batch and automated scoring services).
The software name originally stood for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS),
reflecting the original market, although the software is now popular in other fields as well,
including the health sciences and marketing.SPSS is a widely used program for statistical
analysis in social science. It is also used by market researchers, health researchers, survey
companies, government, education researchers, marketing organizations, data miners, and others.
The original SPSS manual (Nie, Bent & Hull, 1970) has been described as one of "sociology's
most influential books" for allowing ordinary researchers to do their own statistical analysis. In
addition to statistical analysis, data management (case selection, file reshaping, creating derived
data) and data documentation (a metadata dictionary was stored in the data file) are features of
the base software. Statistics included in the base software:
Descriptive statistics: Cross tabulation, Frequencies, Descriptives, Explore, Descriptive Ratio
Statistics
Bivariate statistics: Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (bivariate, partial, distances),
Nonparametric tests
Prediction for numerical outcomes: Linear regression
Prediction for identifying groups: Factor analysis, cluster analysis (two-step, K-means,
hierarchical), Discriminant
The many features of SPSS Statistics are accessible via pull-down menus or can be programmed
with a proprietary 4GL command syntax language. Command syntax programming has the
benefits of reproducible output, simplifying repetitive tasks, and handling complex data
manipulations and analyses. Additionally, some complex applications can only be programmed

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in syntax and are not accessible through the menu structure. The pull-down menu interface also
generates command syntax: this can be displayed in the output, although the default settings have
to be changed to make the syntax visible to the user. They can also be pasted into a syntax file
using the "paste" button present in each menu. SPSS Statistics places constraints on internal file
structure, data types, data processing, and matching files, which together considerably simplify
programming. SPSS datasets have a two-dimensional table structure, where the rows typically
represent cases (such as individuals or households) and the columns represent measurements
(such as age, sex, or household income). Only two data types are defined: numeric and text (or
"string"). All data processing occurs sequentially case-by-case through the file (dataset). Files
can be matched one-to-one and one-to-many, but not many-to-many. In addition to that cases-by-
variables structure and processing, there is a separate Matrix session where one can process data
as matrices using matrix and linear algebra operations.
The graphical user interface has two views which can be toggled by clicking on one of the two
tabs in the bottom left of the SPSS Statistics window. The 'Data View' shows a spreadsheet view
of the cases (rows) and variables (columns). Unlike spreadsheets, the data cells can only contain
numbers or text, and formulas cannot be stored in these cells.
The 'Variable View' displays the metadata dictionary where each row represents a variable and
shows the variable name, variable label, value label(s), print width, measurement type, and a
variety of other characteristics. Cells in both views can be manually edited, defining the file
structure and allowing data entry without using command syntax. This may be sufficient for
small datasets. Larger datasets such as statistical surveys are more often created in data entry
software, or entered during computer-assisted personal interviewing, by scanning and using
optical character recognition and optical mark recognition software, or by direct capture from
online questionnaires. These datasets are then read into SPSS.SPSS Statistics can read and write
data from ASCII text files (including hierarchical files), other statistics packages, spreadsheets
and databases. SPSS Statistics can read and write to external relational database tables via
ODBC and SQL.
There are 4 main windows in SPSS :

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Data View - The data view is used to store and show your data. It is much like an ordinary
spreadsheet although in general the data is structured so that rows are cases and the columns
are for the different variables that relate to each case.
Variable View - The variable view contains the variables on your data set, so it defines the
properties of your dataset. Each row will define all of the various variables for one set of
data. For example, for a numerical piece of data this would show (amongst other things) the
number of decimal places that are stored for that piece of data. The variables include - name,
type, width, decimals, label, values, missing, columns, align and measure. Ensuring that the
'measure' of your variables is correct is vital. The variable can be Nominal which is for
strings of data, Ordinal for data that isn't continuous but can be ranked or ordered or, finally,
scale which is used for a variable that is continuous, for example a distance to somewhere.
Output Viewer Window - This window is used to show the results that have been output
from your data analysis. Depending on the analysis that you are carrying out this may include
the Chart Editor Window or Pivot Table Window.
Syntax Editor Window - This window shows the underlying commands that have executed
your data analysis. If you are a confident coder this is where you can amend the code, or
write your own from scratch, and then run your own custom analysis on your data set.

2. USES OF SPSS FOR MANAGERS

Save tons of time - Import data with a few clicks. It guides you through importation from
many types of data sources, including spreadsheets and databases, without the need for
modification or re-entry of data.
Compare data sets - Spreadsheet programs cant really do much when you have to compare
data sets or data files to identify any discrepancies between them. In IBM SPSS Statistics,
you can do this by comparing the document metadata or case-by-case comparison of selected
variables.
Eliminate costly sorting errors - Spreadsheets are prone to sorting errors. IBM SPSS
Statistics, however, acts like a database and creates an ID for each record. This eliminates
duplicate records and jumbled cases.

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Forget about formula errors - Spreadsheet functions depend on the users math knowledge.
At the same time, they make it very easy to copy a formula over needed data, or create
erroneous formulas when inserting rows or columns. In IBM SPSS Statistics, there are no
formulas to input. And since IBM SPSS Statistics separates the results from the data, you are
never in danger of corrupting results as you explore your data.
Effective data management - While it is spot on that a spreadsheet program offers more
control with regards to the data organization, this can also be seen as a demerit. In contrast,
you cannot move data blocks in SPSS as it is meant for organizing data in an optimal
manner. A row represents one case, whereas a column denotes one variable. SPSS makes
data analysis quicker because the program knows the location of the cases and variables.
When using a spreadsheet, users must manually define this relationship in every analysis.
Wide range of options - SPSS is specifically made for analyzing statistical data and thus it
offers a great range of methods, graphs and charts. General programs may offer other
procedures like invoicing and accounting forms, but specialized programs are better suited
for this function. SPSS also comes with more techniques of screening or cleaning the
information in preparation for further analysis. Furthermore, normal spreadsheet programs
may only support data analysis immediately following installation, with extra plug-ins being
required for accessing more intricate techniques.
Better output organization - SPSS is designed to make certain that the output is kept separate
from data itself. In fact, it stores all results in a separate file that is different from the data.

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