Directions This assignment will prepare you for your final research paper. In

Directions

This assignment will prepare you for your final research paper. In this lab you will learn how to enter data into SPSS. For this assignment you will enter a survey

into SPSS. To complete this assignment please upload your SPSS file. Below is a brief overview of how to enter data into SPSS. If you would to learn more about entering data, please click hereLinks to an external site..

Defining the Variables

Before you can enter your data, you need to tell IBM SPSS about your variable names and
coding instructions. This is called ‘defining the variables’. You will do this in the Data Editor
window . The Data Editor window consists of two different views: Data View and Variable View. You can move between these two views using the little tabs at the bottom left-hand side of the screen. You will notice that in the Data View window each of the columns is labelled var. Down the side you will see the numbers 1, 2, 3 and so on. These are the case numbers that IBM SPSS assigns to each of your lines of data. These are not the same as your ID numbers, and these case numbers change if you sort your file or split your file to analyze subsets of your data.

Procedure for defining your variables

To define each of the variables that make up your data file, you first need to click on the Variable View tab at the bottom left of your screen. In this view the variables are listed down the side, with their characteristics listed along the top (name, type, width,
decimals, label etc.).Your job now is to define each of your variables by specifying the required information for each variable listed in your codebook. Some of the information you will need to provide yourself (e.g. name); other bits are provided automatically using default values. These default values can be changed if necessary.

Name
In this column, type in the brief variable name that will be used to identify each of the
variables in the data file (listed in your codebook). Keep these variable names as short as
possible, not exceeding 64 characters. They must follow the naming conventions specified by IBM SPSS. Each variable name must be unique, must start with a letter, and cannot contain spaces or symbols.

Type
The default value for Type that will appear automatically as you enter your first variable
name is Numeric. For most purposes, this is all you will need to use. There are some
circumstances where other options may be appropriate. For example, if you need to enter
text information (e.g. a person’s surname), you need to change the type to String. A Date
option is also available if your data includes dates. To change the variable type, click in the
cell and a box with three dots should appear giving you the options available. You can also
use this window to adjust the width of the variable and the number of decimal places.

Width
The default value for Width is 8 (unless this has been changed using the Options instructions
presented earlier in this section). This is usually sufficient for most data. If your variable has
very large values (or you have requested a string variable), you may need to change this
default value; otherwise, leave it as is.

Decimals
The default value for Decimals is usually 2 (however, this can be changed using the Options
facility described earlier in this chapter). If your variable has decimal places, adjust this to
suit your needs.

Label
The Label column allows you to provide a longer description for your variable than used in
the Name column. This will be used in the output generated from the analyses conducted by
IBM SPSS.

Measure
The column heading Measure refers to the level of measurement of each of your variables.
The default is Scale, which refers to continuous data measured at interval or ratio level of
measurement. If your variable consists of categories (e.g. sex), click in the cell and then on
the arrow key that appears. Choose Nominal for categorical data and Ordinal if your data
involve rankings or ordered values (e.g. level of education completed). It is important that
you set the measurement levels of your variables correctly otherwise SPSS will stop you
using some of the procedures (e.g. creating graphs).

Please see the videos below related to entering data into SPSS.

Rubric

SPSS Rubric