Chapter Two

2.1. Descriptive Statistics using SPSS

After data has been entered, it can be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics
are commonly used for summarizing data frequency or measures of central tendency measures
(mean, median, mode and quartile) and measures of dispersion.
Data analysis generally begins with the calculation of a number of summary statistics such as the
mean, median, standard deviation, etc., and by creating informative graphical displays of the
data such as histograms, box plots, and stem-and-leaf plots.
A Viewer window opens the first time you run a procedure that generates output. In this window,
you can easily navigate to whichever part of the output you want to see. The Viewer is divided
into two panes:
• The left pane of the Viewer contains an outline view of the contents (Outline pane),
• The right pane contains statistical tables, charts, and text output (Contents pane).

Frequency analysis
Frequency analysis is a descriptive statistical method that shows the number of occurrences of
each response chosen by respondents. When using frequency analysis, SPSS statistics can also
calculate the mean, median and mode to help users analyze the results and draw conclusions.
To perform frequency analysis: To run the Frequencies procedure, click Analyze > Descriptive
Statistics > Frequencies.

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A Variable(s): The variables to produce Frequencies output for. To include a variable for
analysis, double-click on its name to move it to the Variables box. Moving several variables to
this box will create several frequency tables at once.

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The vast majority of the descriptive statistics available in the Frequencies: Statistics window are
never appropriate for nominal variables, and are rarely appropriate for ordinal variables in most
situations.

C Charts: Opens the Frequencies: Charts window, which contains various graphical options.

Options include bar charts, pie charts, and histograms. For categorical variables, bar charts and
pie charts are appropriate. Histograms should only be used for continuous variables; they
should not be used for ordinal variables, and should never be used with nominal variables.
 Bar chart displays the categories on the graph's x-axis, and either the frequencies or the
percentages on the y-axis
 Pie chart depicts the categories of a variable as "slices" of a circular "pie".
Note that the options in the Chart Values area apply only to bar charts and pie charts. In
particular, these options affect whether the labeling for the pie slices or the y-axis of the bar chart
uses counts or percentages. This setting will greyed out if Histograms is selected.
D Format: Opens the Frequencies: Format window, which contains options for how to sort and
organize the table output.
E Display frequency tables: When checked, frequency tables will be printed. (This box is

checked by default.) If this check box is not checked, no frequency tables will be produced, and
the only output will come from supplementary options from Statistics or Charts. For
categorical variables, you will usually want to leave this box checked.

Graphing Data
SPSS has the capability to create many types of charts as can be seen by clicking on the Graphs
menu bar. Graphs can also be created by using options available in some dialog boxes for
analyses. For example, histograms can be created from the Graphs menu or from Analyze/
Descriptive Statistics/Frequencies.

The chart builder is an interactive drag-and-drop dialog box where you can define exactly what
type of graph you would like.

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Box plots. These alternatives control the display of box plots when you have more than one
dependent variable.
• Factor levels together generate a separate display for each dependent variable. Within a
display, Box plots are shown for each of the groups defined by a factor variable.
• Dependents together generate a separate display for each group defined by a factor
variable. Within a display, box plots are shown side by side for each dependent variable.
• This display is particularly useful when the different variables represent a single
characteristic measured at different times.
• Box plots are useful to illustrate the dispersion of data. Let’s create a boxplot together
using the same data.

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How to create a simple 2-D boxplot
In the Chart Builder, click the Gallery tab and select Boxplot in the Choose From list.
Drag the Simple 2-D Boxplot icon onto the canvas.
Drag a categorical (nominal or ordinal) variable to the x-axis drop zone.
Drag a scale variable to the y-axis drop zone.
Note: The "statistic" for a dot plot is Boxplot. You cannot change this.
Bar charts
Bar charts are useful for summarizing categorical variables. For example, you can use a bar
chart to show the number of men and the number of women who participated in a survey, or
you can use a bar chart to show the mean salary for men and the mean salary for women.
How to create a simple bar chart
In the Chart Builder, click the Gallery tab and select Bar in the Choose From list.
Drag the Simple Bar icon onto the canvas.
Drag a categorical (nominal or ordinal) variable to the x-axis drop zone. You can use a scale
variable, but the results will be useful in only a few special cases. A bar chart looks best with
a limited number of distinct values. If you create a bar chart with a scale x axis, the bars will
be very skinny because each bar is drawn at an exact value, and the bar cannot overlap other
continuous values.
Specify a statistic in the Element Properties dialog box. The result of any statistic determines
the height of the bars. If the statistic you want does not appear in the Statistic list, it may
require a variable. Drag a scale variable to the y-axis drop zone and check if the statistic is
now available. There may be other chart type limitations. For example, error bar charts can be
calculated only for specific statistics.
Histograms
Histograms are useful for showing the distribution of a single scale variable. Data are binned
and summarized using a count or percentage statistic. A variation of a histogram is a frequency
polygon, which is like a typical histogram except that the area graphic element is used instead
of the bar graphic element.
Another variation of the histogram is the population pyramid. Its name is derived from its most
common use: summarizing population data.

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How to create a histogram
In the Chart Builder, click the Gallery tab and select Histogram in the Choose From list.
Drag the Simple Histogram icon onto the canvas.
Drag a scale variable to the x-axis drop zone.
Note: The statistic for a histogram is Histogram or Histogram Percent. These statistics bin the
data and calculate a count for each bin. If you change the statistic, the chart will no longer
be a histogram.
2.2. Summary statistics
The Summarize procedure calculates subgroup statistics for variables within categories of one or
more grouping variables. All levels of the grouping variable are cross tabulated. You can choose
the order in which the statistics are displayed. Summary statistics for each variable across all
categories are also displayed. Data values in each category can be listed or suppressed. With
large datasets, you can choose to list only the first n cases.
Statistics: Sum, number of cases, mean, median, grouped median, standard error of the mean,
minimum, maximum, range, variable value of the first category of the grouping variable,
variable value of the last category of the grouping variable, standard deviation, variance,
kurtosis, standard error of kurtosis, skewness, standard error of skewness, percentage of total
sum, percentage of total N, percentage of sum in, percentage of N in, geometric mean, and
harmonic mean.
To Obtain Descriptive Statistics
From the menus choose:
This feature requires the Statistics Base option.
Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Descriptives...
Select one or more variables.
Optionally, you can:
• Select Save standardized values as variables to save z scores as new variables.
• Click Options for optional statistics and display order.