A Guide for

a Selection of SPSS
Functions
IBM SPSS Statistics 19

Compiled by Beth Gaedy, Math Specialist, Viterbo University - 2012

Using documents prepared by Drs. Sheldon Lee, Marcus Saegrove, Jennifer Sadowski and Michael Alfieri
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
How to enter data into SPSS data editor: General instructions .................................................................................................................. 3
How to create figures in SPSS: General instructions ................................................................................................................................. 4
Creating Bar Graphs .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Creating Pie Charts .................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Creating Histograms .................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Computing the Mean, Median, and Standard Deviation .......................................................................................................................... 10
Creating Box Plots ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
To make a Normal Quantile Plot ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
Make a Scatter Plot .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
“Standard” Pearson correlation a.k.a Pearson product-moment correlation: ........................................................................................... 12
Linear Regression .................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Find the regression equation ................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Make a Scatter Plot with regression line in SPSS .................................................................................................................................... 13
Residual Plot in SPSS .............................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Spearman rank-order correlation ............................................................................................................................................................. 14
Logistic regression ................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Paired T-test ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 15
Independent T-test ................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Mann Whitney U a.k.a Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney ................................................................................................................................... 16
ANOVA / General Linear Model............................................................................................................................................................ 16
Post-Hoc tests – ANOVA .................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Kruskal-Wallis test .................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Chi-square test of association (Contingency Tables) ............................................................................................................................... 18
Goodness of Fit Test ................................................................................................................................................................................ 18

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How to enter data into SPSS data editor: General instructions

The Data Editor provides two views of your data:

Data View. This view displays the actual data values or defined value labels (resembles an excel spreadsheet)

Variable View. This view displays variable definition information, including defined variable and value labels,
data type (for example, string, date, or numeric), measurement level (nominal, ordinal, or scale), and user-
defined missing values.

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In both views, you can add, change, and delete information that is contained in the data file. You can switch
between them at the tabs located at the bottom left hand of the page.

Variable View contains descriptions of the attributes of each variable in the data file. In Variable View: rows
are variables and columns are variable attributes. Type in the name of your variable (no spaces), choose the
type of data (by clicking the grey box in the cell), a label for your variable (spaces are allowed – this will be the
label that shows up on figures/graphs). If desired, in the “values” box code for your values by clicking on the
grey box in the cell, and then coding “0=male, 1=female”. When you then return to data view, your codes will
translate to your values (do this under “view” and “values labels”).

Once your variables are set up in variable view, return to “data view” and enter your data. Remember to save
both your data file and your data output separately (they are different file types).

How to create figures in SPSS: General instructions

General instructions: To create a graph/figure on SPSS, go to “Graphs”, then “Legacy Dialogs” and choose the
appropriate option. Typical options are: “Bar” and “Scatter/dot”. There are many options for graphs and/or
details (e.g., error bars, best fit lines, etc) – consult the “Help” function on SPSS for additional detailed
instructions.

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Creating Bar Graphs
For categorical data, we may use bar graphs or pie charts to visualize the data. In the data below, the three
columns are the favorite colors, favorite football teams, and pulse rates for students in a class. These are
categorical data, so we may use a bar graph or pie chart to display the data.

To make a bar graph in SPSS, go to

Graphs  Legacy Dialogs Bar. Note
that the Simple bar graph is the default.
Click “Define.”

 Choose either “simple” or

“clustered” (“Clustered” is for
grouping data – for example, by
weeks).

Drag one of the categorical variables

(such as Favorite Color) onto the
Category Axis. Click “OK” to finish.

Notice: You can add additional

“Titles” and change what the “Bars
Represent.”

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This is the resulting graph, which can be cut and pasted
into other documents.

Also from the “Bars Represent” area:

- Choose your variable of

interest and click “other
statistic” from the “Bars
Represent” area. The
mean is automatically
chosen (displayed on y-
axis). Include the
variable of interest for
your x- axis and include it in
the “category” box.

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Creating Pie Charts
Graphs Legacy Dialogs Pie and click on
Define. Drag a categorical variable into the
“Define Slices by” box. (NOTE: Here the
results will be shown as a % rather than an N
value.)

Creating Histograms
For one set of data:

METHOD #1 (the simple way)

Graphs Legacy Dialogs Histogram

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 From the column listings, drag the appropriate
variable to “Variable.”

METHOD #2 (more editing options)

Graphs Chart Builder

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 This shot shows
that a simple
histogram was
chosen, and the
data for “Volume
Diet Cola” was
placed into the
x-axis.

The “Element
Properties”
window
automatically
appears.

TO SET CUSTOM VALUES FOR ANCHORS AND BINS:

In the “Set Parameters” tab of the “Element

Properties” window, you can use the “Custom
value for anchor" option to determine the starting
endpoint for the bins. To change the bin width,
find "Bin Sizes", select Custom, click on “Interval
Width”, and enter the desired bin width into the
box

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Histograms, continued:

For two sets of data:

You need one column for the actual quantitative data, and another column used to specify which
group the data belongs to. Select the right-most icon (back-to-back histogram) and drag it to the chart
preview area. Drag the quantitative variable into “Distribution Variable” box, and drag the grouping
variable into the “Split Variable” box.

Computing the Mean, Median, and Standard Deviation

Enter all the

values into a
column.
Select
Analyze→
Descriptive
Statistics→
Frequencies.

Select the variables desired and drag them to the

“Variable(s)” panel.

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 Click the Statistics tab and choose what you want to
calculate. (If you want to add Percentile(s), type in the
value and click “Add”.) Click “continue” to return to
the Frequencies window, and click OK to compute.

Here is the Statistics

output: Age

N Valid 54

Missing 0

Mean 43.52

Median 34.00

Std. Deviation 33.721

Percentiles 25 17.00

35 21.00

50 34.00

75 58.00

Creating Box Plots

There are several ways to make box plots in SPSS, some of which are described below.
 Single box plot
Graphs  Chart Builder, select Boxplot from the Gallery, drag the rightmost icon into the chart
preview area. Drag the corresponding variable into the x-axis, then click OK to finish.
 Side-by-side box plots, data in separate columns
Analyze  Descriptive Statistics  Explore, drag all variables to plot into the “Dependent List”.
Click “Plots”. Under Boxplots, select “Dependents together”. You also have the option to plot
stem-and-leaf plots and histograms.
 Side-by-side box plots, data in a single column with another column that is the grouping variable.
Graphs  Chart Builder, select Boxplot from the Gallery, drag the leftmost icon into the chart preview area.
Drag the variable onto the y-axis, and the grouping variable onto the x-axis.

To make a Normal Quantile Plot

 Analyze → Descriptive Statistics → Explore
 Drag the appropriate column or columns into "Dependent List"
 Click "Plots"
 Check "Normality Plot with tests"
 Optional: check “Histogram” to plot a histogram. Under boxplots, select “Factor levels together” to
make a boxplot for each variable, or select “Dependents together” to make side-by-side boxplots.
 Click "Continue"
 Click "OK"
 Look for the Normal Q-Q Plots in the Output window (You may ignore the Detrended Normal Q-Q
plots)

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Make a Scatter Plot
 Graphs → LegacyDialogs → Scatter/Dot
 Select “Simple Scatter”, click “Define”
Drag the appropriate columns to the X-axis and Y-axis.

“Standard” Pearson correlation a.k.a Pearson product-moment correlation:

Tests whether there is an association between two variables
Data (for both variables) are continuous, parametric
Example: “There is a significant association between plant height and plant root length (Pearson
correlation: r=0.75, n = 20, p=0.02)”

Pearson correlation How to enter data:

 Input data into columns
 add appropriate labels

Pearson correlation - How to run test:
 Analyze
 Correlate
 Bivariate…
 move variables into variables box
 check “Pearson” and “Two-tailed”
 Ok

Linear Regression
Determines relationship between two variables and implies that a prediction of one value is being
attempted from another (i.e., cause and effect).
Data are Continuous

NOTE: x = ‘cause’, ‘predictor’, or ‘independent’ variable that is set or chosen by the experimenter
y = ‘effect’, ‘dependent’ which is never set by the experimenter
Example: “The uptake of drug X is significantly affected by pH level: uptake increases at higher
pH levels (linear regression: p<0.001)”

Linear Regression How to enter data:

Input data into two columns  label columns appropriately

Linear Regression How to run test:

 Analyze
 Regression
 Linear…
 move the “effect” variable into the dependent box
 move the “cause” variable into the independent box
 Ok

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Find the regression equation
 (continued from steps above)
 Optional: Click “Save”. To save the predicted values, check “Unstandardized” under “predicted
Values”. To save the residuals, check “Unstandardized” under “Residuals”.
 Click OK
 The bottom table in the Output window contains the coefficients.

 In this case, the regression equation is

̂

If the value is sufficiently close to 1, you may use the regression equation to do predictions. For example, for
somebody who has had 6.5 beers, the approximated blood alcohol level would be

Make a Scatter Plot with regression line in SPSS

 Graphs → LegacyDialogs → Scatter/Dot
 Select “Simple Scatter”, click “Define”
 Drag the appropriate columns to the X-axis and Y-axis and click “OK”
 In the Output window, double-click on the scatterplot.
 Select Elements→Fit Line at Total.
 Set the “Fit Method” to Linear
 The “best-fit” line is drawn, and the value is shown to the right of the plot.
To convert from the value to the value, you take the positive or negative square root, depending on
whether or not the correlation is positive or negative.

Residual Plot in SPSS

 Analyze → Regression → Linear
 Enter dependent variable (y column) and independent variable (x column) appropriately
 Click “Save”. To save the residuals, check “Unstandardized” under “Residuals”.
 Click OK, a new column is displayed (probably called RES_1)
 Make a regular scatterplot putting the independent variable on the x-axis and the residual on the y-
axis.

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Spearman rank-order correlation
Tests whether there is an association between two variables
Data are discrete, non-parametric

Example: “There is not a significant association between male and female body size in pairs of
penguins (Spearman correlation: rs=0.771, n=20, p=0.072)”

NOTE Spearman rank-order is the non-parametric equivalent of the Pearson correlation (pg 83)

Spearman rank-order correlation How to enter data:

 Enter all data into two columns
o Enter category labels
o Enter value labels

Spearman rank-order correlation How to enter data:

 Select “Analyze”
 “correlate” then Bivariate…”
 Highlight both variables and move them into “Variables” box
 Make sure that “Spearman” is selected, and that the “test of Significance” is “Two-tailed”
 Click “OK”

Logistic regression
Regression, as above, implies cause and effect when ‘y’, ‘dependent variable’ (“effect”) is classified into groups
NOTE: Dependent (effect, y, never set by experimenter): only classified into groups
Independent (cause, x, is set or chosen by experimenter): can be continuous OR can be in groups
Example: “Shade level has a significant effect on the presence of the plant virus (logistic
regression: p=0.006)”

Logistic regression How to enter data:

 2 columns
 1st has treatment as yes or no (0 or 1)
 2nd has category groupings (1-?)

Logistic regression How to run test:

 Analyze
 Regression
 Binary Logistic
 move 'effect' variable to "Dependent" box
 Place 'cause' variable in "Covariates" box
 "OK"

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Tests of Differences (for each know when to use, what type of data, how to write results):

Paired T-test
Data are continuous, paired, in 2 groups, parametric
Example: “Plants in treatment A were significantly taller ( ̅ = 5.6 cm) after 7 days than plants in
treatment B ( ̅ = 4.5 cm) (t-test: p= value of p, Figure 1).”

Paired T-test How to enter data:

 Arrange data in 2 columns
 Columns labeled as “before” and “after”
 Should be one individual per row

Paired T-test How to run test:

 Analyze
 Compare means
 Paired samples
 t-test
 choose variables
 click ok

Independent T-test
Data are continuous, unpaired, in 2 groups, parametric
Example: “Plants in treatment A were significantly taller ( ̅ = 5.6 cm) after 7 days than plants in
treatment B ( ̅ = 4.5 cm) (t-test: p= value of p, Figure 1).”

Independent T-test How to enter data :

·1st column put in all data
·2nd column assign category to each data
Go to Variable View- under "Values" put in code 1 or 2

Independent T-test How to run test :

 Analyze
 Compare Means
 Independent Samples T Test
 Place independent variable in appropriate box
 Grouping variable in other , press "define groups," put in 1 and 2
 "Continue"
 "OK"
Read line with "Equal variances assumed" line for appropriate p-value

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Mann Whitney U a.k.a Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney
Data are discrete, unpaired, in 2 groups, non-parametric
Example: “There were significantly more plants in treatment A than in treatment B (Mann-
Whitney U test: p= 0.025)”

NOTE Mann-Whitney U is the non-parametric equivalent to the independent samples t-test

Mann Whitney U How to enter data:

 Enter collected data into a column
 Enter categories (as numbers) in next column
o Go to variable view and enter in corresponding information, including the ‘values’ column as
what which # represents in the data view.

Mann Whitney U How to run test:

 Select “Analyze”
 “Nonparametric Tests”
 “2-Independent Samples” (by default, the Mann-U should be selected)
 Enter dependent variable in the “Test Variable List”
 Enter independent variable in the “Grouping Variable”
 “Define Groups” (define them as 1 and 2)
 Click “OK” to run

ANOVA / General Linear Model

Data are continuous, unpaired, in 2 groups or more, parametric
Example: “There is a significant difference in grain size among the three cultivars
(ANOVA: F=11.879, df=2, p=0.001)

ANOVA How to enter data:

All the data are entered into one column with a second column for the labeling of the groups.

ANOVA How to run test:

 Analyze menu
 choose Compare Means
 One-way ANOVA.
 the data (numerical) variable goes into the Dependent box
 the grouping variable goes into the Factor box
 . By clicking on the Options menu you can request a means plot, some descriptive statistics of the data,
and a test for Homogeneity of variance. Click continue, then OK.

GLM How to enter data:

 Create columns [categorical/variable]
 enter data into appropriate columns
 label variables within columns if necessary

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GLM How to run test:
 Analyze
 General Linear Model
 Univariate…
move dependent variable into appropriate box
move fixed factor into the appropriate box
 Ok

ANOVA / General Linear Model

Post-Hoc tests – ANOVA
Data are continuous, unpaired, in more than 2 groups, parametric
Example: “There is a significant difference in grain size among the three cultivars (ANOVA: F=11.879,
df=2, p=0.001). Premier is significantly smaller than super or dupa and there is no difference between
super and dupa (least significant difference (LSD) post-hoc test, table 1).

ANOVA How to enter data:

 See directions for ANOVA

ANOVA How to run test:

 Run as ANOVA
 While selecting variables, click post hoc button
 Select LSD, SNK
 Click ok in display box
 Click ok

GLM How to enter data in SPSS: similar to ANOVA

GLM How to run test in SPSS: similar to ANOVA

Kruskal-Wallis test
Data are discrete, unpaired, in more than 2 groups, non-parametric
Example: “There is a significant difference in grain size of the three cultivars (Kruskal Wallis:
p=0.013).

NOTE Kruskal-Wallis is the non-parametric equivalent to the one-way ANOVA

NOTE If Kruskal-Wallis results state a significant difference, then pairwise Mann-Whitney U tests can be run.

Kruskal-Wallis How to enter data:

Use independent t-test to enter data but this time have a 3rd group instead of just 2

Kruskal-Wallis How to run test:

 Analyze
 Non-parametric Tests
 K Independent Samples
 make sure "Kruskal-Wallis test is selected (default)
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  Place data into the "test variable list"
 Grouping variable in other , press "define groups"
 put in min. and max (ex: if there are 3 groups, min=1 and max=3)
 "Continue"
 "OK"

Chi-square test of association (Contingency Tables)

Tests whether there is an association between two variables
Data are categorical, non-parametric
Example: “There was a significant association between stream velocity category and stream bed
category (Chi-square test: X2 = 11.036, d.f. = 3, p=0.012)”

Chi-square test of association How to enter data:

Create 3 columns in the worksheet: “frequency”, “row”, and “column”. The “frequency” column
contains the data, and the “row” and “column” columns identify the location of the data in the matrix.

Chi-square test of association How to run test:

 Data menu
 Choose Weight Cases
 Click “frequency” into frequency variable box. Click OK.
 Analyze menu
 choose Descriptive Statistics
 select Crosstabs
 Enter “row” into row and “column” into column.
 Click Statistics
 select Chi-square
 Continue.
 click Cells
 in the options box select both Observed and Expected in the Counts area.
 click Continue
 OK in the Crosstabs box.
 Click Display clustered bar charts to produce a visual summary of the frequencies in each of the
categories.

Goodness of Fit Test

Enter categories (by number) in one column, and frequency in adjacent column.
DataWeight Cases; click “Weight Cases by” and insert frequency column in “Frequency Variable:
AnalyzeNonparametric TestsLegacy DialogChi Square Test
Click category column into “Test Variable List”
Click appropriate case in “Expected Values”; add proportions in “Values” (if appropriate)
Click OK
Chi-Square value, d.f. and P-value appear in output.

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