Fundamentals of SPSS

This course will provide participants with sufficient knowledge of SPSS to enable them to create and run SPSS jobs for analysing data obtained from surveys, experiments and other sources. It will also provide them with a structure to help them develop a data analysis plan. Instruction and practical work will be integrated in all sessions of the course. Each participant will have a computer, and individual assistance will be available. The course will be based on SPSS version 20, but it is also suitable for users of earlier versions of SPSS or users of SPSS on MAC or PC platforms. This course is being offered in a computer lab.
 

The course provides a grounding in the use of the SPSS package for data analysis. It focuses on the analysis of survey, administrative and/or census data, and will use descriptive statistical techniques to demonstrate the package's features. Some revision of statistics concepts will be covered if needed, though it is not planned as a comprehensive course in statistics.
 

Topics to be covered include: the Windows environment as applicable to SPSS; key elements of a SPSS 'job' - defining, entering data and running jobs, preparing data for analysis; raw data files - using both  pull down menus and syntax, SPSS files and data from other packages; selecting and modifying data, creating new variables; graphing data; developing a data analysis plan - deciding on the measures, tables and graphs appropriate for the study being undertaken; output files - formats, data analysis procedures, univariate and bivariate analyses, presentation of results in reports and tables, and the analysis of multiple response questions. It will also involve some of the file handling features of SPSS, including merging of both cases and variables.

This course will take place in a computer lab.