Basic SPSS - Entering and defining variables

GPA scores in three statistics classes.

1) In this topic, we discussed how variables are defined, coded, and measured.

2) Keep in mind that the variable view is used to define the variables you measure, and the data view is used to enter the scores you measured.

3) When entering data, make sure that all values or scores are entered in each cell of the data view spreadsheet. The biggest challenge is making sure you enter the data correctly. Entering even a single value incorrectly can alter the data analyses that SPSS computes. For this reason, always double-check the data to make sure the correct values have been entered.

FIRST METHOD OF DATA ENTRY
(Enter data by column)

1) Open the variable view tab. In the name column, enter your variable names as class1, class2, and class3 (note that spaces are not allowed) in each row. Three rows should be active.

2) Since our data are to the tenths place, go to the decimal column and
reduce that value to 1 in each row.

3) Open the data view tab.

3a) You will see that the first three columns are now labeled with the group names.

3b) Enter the data for each class in the appropriate column. The data for each group are
now listed down each column.

SECOND METHOD OF DATA ENTRY
(Enter data by row)

1) Open the variable view tab. Enter classes in the first row in the name column. Enter GPA in the second row in the name column.

2) Go to the decimal column and reduce that value to 0 for the first row. Reduce the decimal column to
1 in the second row since we will enter GPA scores for this variable.

3) Go to the values column and click on the small gray box with three dots. In the dialog box, enter 1 in the value cell and class 1 in the label cell, and then select add. Repeat these steps by entering 2 for class 2 and 3 for class 3, then select OK. When you go back to the data view tab, SPSS will now recognize 1 as class 1, 2 as class 2, and so on in the column you labeled classes.

4) Open the data view tab. In the first column, enter 1 five times, 2 five times, and 3 five times. This tells SPSS that there are five students in each class.

1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3


5) In the second column, enter the GPA scores for each class by row. The data for each class are now listed across the rows next to the corresponding codes (1, 2, and 3) for each class.

3.3
2.9
3.5
3.6
3.1
3.9
4.0
2.4
3.1
3.0
2.7
2.3
2.2
3.0
2.8


6) The data for all the variables are labeled, coded, and entered. So long as you do this correctly, SPSS will make summarizing, computing, and analyzing any statistic fast and simple.

reference: http://bukurazi.blogspot.com/2013/01/statistics-for-behavioral-sciences.html