I have just been doing some detailed file exploration and management work on the SPSS saved file for a subset of the 2004 British Social Attitudes survey, one of the teaching data sets used by Marsh and Elliott, “Exploring Data” (2nd edition, Polity, 2008).
Like many SPSS data sets distributed by UK Data Services, the measurement levels and missing values are not fully, or correctly, specified, so I have written a highly detailed commentary on the file: http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/9/8/2998485/notes_on_bsa_2004_marsh_and_elliott.pdf
covering all modifications to make the file easier to use and navigate, including all screenshots, syntax examples and the final *.sps file to effect the necessary changes.
These notes will be particularly useful to students and SPSS newbies, as the process and logic apply not just to this and other SPSS files for the BSA, but also to files from other major survey series. Commentaries on some of these are on my page:
http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/spss-files-and-documentation-used-for-tutorials-and-exercises.html
John F Hall (Mr)
[Retired academic survey researcher]
Email: [hidden email]
Website: www.surveyresearch.weebly.com
SPSS start page: www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop
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