SPSS

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Welcome to the SPSS support Web page at the EUI!

SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is one of the most widely available and powerful statistical software packages used by social scientists. It covers a broad range of statistical procedures that allow you to analyse data (e.g., calculate means, standard deviations, minimums, maximums), determine whether there are significant differences between groups (e.g., t-tests, analysis of variance), examine relationships among variables (e.g., correlation, multiple regression), and graph results (e.g., bar charts, line graphs). Moreover, SPSS can take data from almost any type of file and is available from several platforms including WINDOWS 3.x, WINDOWS 95/98/NT/2000/XP/Vista, and Macintosh.

Here at the Institute we have SPSS for Windows version 16.0 (in the Reslabs and on CD-ROM to install on your own PC).

Since SPSS under Windows is by far the most used, the following notes will refer only to SPSS for Windows. The reason for the great success of SPSS under Windows is that it is user-friendly . Indeed, SPSS for Windows provides a user interface that makes statistical analysis more intuitive for all levels of users. Simple menus and dialog box selections make it possible for a beginning user to perform complex analyses without typing a single line of command syntax. For an advanced user, it is also possible through the syntax editor to write commands or to paste commands selected through the dialog boxes in order to keep a record of your job. Moreover, the built-in SPSS Data Editor offers a simple and efficient spreadsheet-like utility for entering data and browsing the working data file. In addition, high-resolution, presentation-quality charts and plots can be created and edited. Using the SPSS Viewer, you can handle the output with greater flexibility. SPSS for Windows also reads data files from a variety of file formats including Excel, dBASE, Lotus, Stata, and SAS.

Installation notes

SPSS is available on the public workstations, on the standard EUI office PCs, and in distribution for your own PC.

1 - In Reslabs

From the START menu choose: PROGRAMS - SPSS for Windows - SPSS 16.0 for Windows.

2 - On your own PC

You can install SPSS on your own PC using the WelcomePack DVD, either Windows or Mac version, featuring all available software. It is provided at the beginning of the academic year to all 1st-year researchers (on Registration Day). Researchers who have missed Registration Day or who belong to other years may ask their local Site Office for a copy of the WelcomePack DVD.

Serial Numbers/Codes for the software installation/registration can be obtained at your local Site Office upon signing a License Agreement Form.

Licenses are usually valid for one year and renewal in due time before expiration is the user's responsibility (usually validity can be checked through the HelpAbout menu).

Getting help

1 - SPSS Manuals

SPSS company provides several manuals with different aims and on different topics. Some teach the use of SPSS through the dialog boxes, others deal with the syntax commands. Moreover, some provide an introduction to the basics of working with SPSS while others cover more advanced topics. These manuals are updated at each release. For SPSS 16.0 we can find:

SPSS 16.0 Guide to Data Analysis by Marija Norusis, ISBN: 0136061362; description and purchase information at http://www.norusis.com
SPSS 16.0 Statistical Procedures Companion by Marija Norusis, ISBN: 0136061397; description and purchase information at http://www.norusis.com
SPSS 16.0 Advanced Statistical Procedures Companion by Marija Norusis, ISBN: 0136061400; description and purchase information at http://www.norusis.com
SPSS Programming and Data Management: A Guide for SPSS and SAS® Users, Fourth Edition by Raynald Levesque, ISBN: 1568273908; description and purchase information at the SPSS Web store
SPSS 16.0 Brief Guide , ISBN: 0136036015 ; description and purchase information at the SPSS Web store
SPSS Base 16.0 User's Guide , ISBN: 0136036007

Another very useful SPSS Product is:

SPSS Reference Guide which documents and gives examples of all the commands in alphabetic order.

2 - Books on Statistical Analysis using SPSS

There are ever so many books on quantitative data analysis with SPSS that it is difficult to make recommendations. Here below you find two of them that are available at the EUI library:

Discovering statistics using SPSS by Andy Field (available in the EUI library, LIB 005.369 SPSS)
Adventures in Social Research. Data Analysis Using SPSS 11.0/11.5 by Earl R. Babbie et al. (available in the EUI library, LIB 005.369 SPSS-11)

3 - SPSS On-line help

SPSS provides an on-line help by topics that is very useful when you have doubts on the commands you are using. Simply choose from the menu the Help window and then Topics or Command Syntax Reference.

4 - Useful Internet links

The SPSS Home Page . To discover what is new in the SPSS version 16.0 go to http://www.spss.com/software_version/index.cfm?product=base/ . This page also includes a version comparison chart letting you know which features are added by version number and by area up to version 16.0. On the website of SPSS ( http://www.spss.com/statistics/changes.htm ) also more information concerning the newest version (17.0) (not yet available at the EUI) can be found.
The UCLA Academic Technology Services Web page. The UCLA SPSS portal is a set of links about SPSS and a search engine that allows you to search across these pages for several types of information about SPSS. You find class notes, SPSS tutorials, frequently asked questions, list of books among other things. The nicest links on this Web page are:
http://www.spsstools.net . The main purpose of this site is to present useful codes and techniques to increase the productivity of all levels of SPSS users.
The Association of European SPSS (ASSESS) (http://www.spssusers.co.uk ) is an independent European group of SPSS users. It is run by users, and for users. The group is currently centred on the United Kingdom where it holds an annual conference and other events, but they have had many members from other countries over the years (the first ASSESS international conference was held in Amsterdam in 1988).

Many professors who teach SPSS put their class notes on the Web. Indeed, if you do a search with any search engine through the key word " SPSS tutorials ", you find very many Web pages. Among those that I have looked at, these seem to me particularly good:

http://www.indiana.edu/~statmath/stat/spss/index.html . This is a tutorial on "Getting Started with SPSS for Windows" where you find useful examples on what SPSS is capable of doing. Please note that in this tutorial the intention is not to teach about statistics but to give a feel for the program and how to navigate through the many options.
http://data.fas.harvard.edu/projects/SPSS_Tutorial/spsstut.shtml . Compared to the above-mentioned tutorial, in these class notes there are also comments on how to use the syntax editor ; that is, which commands would produce the same results obtained through the dialog box selections.

5 - Software assistance at the EUI

If you have any questions, doubts, comments in using SPSS send an e-mail to nicola.pensiero@eui.eu in order to arrange an appointment.

Some tips

One of the main reasons why SPSS is so popular among social scientists is its easy Windows point-and-click approach ; that is, the fact that it is possible to perform complex analyses without typing a single line of command syntax. However, this dialog box selection has its drawbacks . First, you are more likely to make mistakes without realizing it because you do not see the command lines written by default. Second, by not keeping a record of your work in a syntax file, you might have problems when you have to check what you did or when you have to re-run the same or similar analyses and you cannot remember them. However, both drawbacks can be overcome if you save step by step the various commands you choose through the Windows point-and-click approach into a syntax file . How? When you have finished selecting the options you want in the proper dialog boxes I highly recommend that you click on "paste" instead of "run", and then run the job from the syntax window by highlighting the just pasted command lines. A way of seeing the commands that you have given, you can achieve by going through the following procedure before starting to work with SPSS. It is highly recommended to do this before starting to work with SPSS. Go to "Edit", and then "Options". Then, choose the "Viewer" tab and click on the option "Display commands in the log". You finish by clicking on "OK". Now you will see the commands in the output file before the actual output of your analyses. It is really helpful as it shows you what you have done to get each output. Finally, at the end of your working day, write down useful comments on what you have done and save the syntax file with a recognisable name (e.g., "AnalysisGenderDifferences14-7-2009.sps").
SPSS has two important limitations that you need to be aware of:
- SPSS users have less control over statistical output than, for example, Stata or Gauss users. For novice users, this hardly causes a problem. But, once a researcher wants greater control over the equations or the output, she or he will need to either choose another package or learn techniques for working around SPSS's limitations;
- SPSS has problems with certain types of data manipulations , and it has some built-in quirks that seem to reflect its early creation. The best known limitation is its weak lag functions, that is, how it transforms data across cases. For new users working off standard data sets, this is rarely a problem. But, once a researcher begins wanting to significantly alter data sets, he or she will have to either learn a new package or develop greater skills at manipulating SPSS.