PSYCH 248: STATISTICAL

METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(LAB SECTION)
INSTRUCTOR: ZEBING WU
EMAIL: ZW287@HUNTER.CUNY.EDU
OUTLINE

• Self-Introduction
• Lab Rules
• Go over Syllabus
• Intro to Statistics and SPSS
• Data type, Data entering in Excel and SPSS
• Complete Lab 1 Worksheet on your own or in group
INTRODUCING YOUR SELF

• Name
• One thing special about yourself, letting us remember you
LAB RULES

• NO FOOD AND DRINK IN THE LAB!

• NO CELL PHONE USE IN THE LAB!
• ATTENDANCE DOES NOT COUNT IN YOUR
GRADE, BUT WEEKLY WORKSHEET COUNTS.
SYLLABUS

• Goals of Lab
• Class Policies
• Attendance
• Evaluation

• College Policies
• Resources
• Schedule
STATISTICS

• Definition: set of mathematical procedures for organizing, summarizing, and interpreting

information.
• Statistical Analyses: Descriptive, Inferential, Comparative, Predictive, and etc.
• Inference: Sample and Population, Statistics and Parameters
• Constructs and Variables
• Independent Variable (IV, usually X) and Dependent Variable (DV, usually Y)
SCALE OF MEASURE AND DATA TYPE

• Scale of Measurement (hierarchical)

• Nominal: e.g., types of personality, political affiliation, race and ethnicity, grade level, equality matters
• Ordinal: e.g., class rank, Likert Scale, order matters
• Internal: e.g., Celsius degree, intelligence, zero is meaningless, differences matters
• Ratio: Fahrenheit degree, height, weight, years of education, absolute zero, ratio matters

• Categorical: Nominal, ordinal

• Numerical/Scale/continuous: interval, ratio
• Transfer or convert among scales
SPSS: WHERE TO BUY STUDENT VERSION

• IBM SPSS Statistics GradPack & Faculty Packs

• https://www.ibm.com/us-en/marketplace/spss-statistics-gradpack/details#product-header-
top
• IBM® SPSS® Statistics Base GradPack 26 for Windows (06-Mo Rental):
• OnTheHub: $34.95,
https://estore.onthehub.com/WebStore/OfferingsOfMajorVersionList.aspx?pmv=304b1dff-
5b5d-e911-8115-000d3af41938&cmi_mnuMain=8659da1b-241d-e611-941a-b8ca3a5db7a1

• StudentDiscounts.com: $34.95, https://studentdiscounts.com/

INTRO TO SPSS

• Data View: part of the data editor where you enter and view
the numbers
• Variable View: part of the data editor where variables are
defined and specified
• Output: SPSS window that shows the results of analyses
• Syntax: commands or codes written to run analyses
• Other General Statistical Packages: SAS, Stata, R, MATLAB, etc.
OUTPUT

• Output windows save all the procedures (data management and

analysis) you have done so far.
• But you can select which output you want to view and print.
We will use frequently for the rest of labs.
SYNTAX

The purpose of syntax is to keep record and save your time to redo all steps all over
again. In addition, you could revise the syntax accordingly if you work on similar
problems.
We can also write comments in the syntax to remind us what we are doing, step by
step.
Create: File—New—Syntax; Use existing one: File—Open—Syntax
Two ways: Write directly in the syntax window if you know the syntax, or copy from
the SPSS window using the “paste” button when you want to complete an operation
to the syntax window if don’t know the syntax,
SAVE DATA, SYNTAX, AND OUTPUT

Data file extensions

• Data file where the data are stored in spreadsheet: .sav
• Syntax file where we write commands for analyses: .sps
• Output file where the results are stored .spv
DEMO: DATA ENTRY IN EXCEL AND SPSS

• Data entry in Excel and SPSS: By Column or By Row; Copy and Paste, or import
• Name: naming the variable, some general rules, e.g., no space, no replicate, case insensitive, $, #, and @
can be used within variable names. Reserved keywords cannot be used as variable names, including ALL,
AND, BY, EQ, GE, GT, LE, LT, NE, NOT, OR, TO, and WITH.
• Type: the types of data, two mostly used are numerical and string. E.g., Student ID should be string, since
there is no meaning for it to be numerical. Gender or other categorical variables can be string as well,
but we usually use numerical to code it since we may want to operate on it.
• Label: the box where you can put notes about the variables to help understand the variables
• Value: the box where you can code the data or variable
• Measure: levels of measurement for this variable, could nominal, ordinal, and scale which include both
interval and ratio.
LAB ASSIGNMENT ON YOUR OWN OR IN GROUP