Opinions on SPSS training courses

[Mark Palmberg-2]

I'm wondering if anyone has any direct experience with the training
courses offered by SPSS and would be willing to share
impressions/opinions.  I'm looking at a couple sessions in Chicago next
month.
 
Thank you.
 
Mark

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[Bethany Cockburn]

Hi!  I took a bunch of courses at SPSS in Chicago (a security guard got to
know me by name!).  Just a heads up, it was my experience that if they
aren't currently offering the "all you want for one price" package, a sales
person can be persuaded to give you that deal.

I found the materials helpful and the main teacher I had was very nice and
helpful.  As you probably expect, some of the classes are more useful than
others.  If you are going to learn statistics, it's a little too intense for
that, so it works better if you are at least globally familiar with the
statistics concepts for the courses you'd like to take.

Be prepared for screw ups related to getting into the building.  About half
the time, the people who took my registration information didn't put me on
the list to be allowed up to the SPSS floor, which resulted in a long
process of trying to track down an SPSS person at work at 8 in the morning
to authorize me (or usually "us") to get onto the floor.  This may be why a
security guard learned my name.  If you have specific questions, I still
have some of my books and could flip through them.  (They really are nice
reference books.)
Bethany

-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
Mark Palmberg
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 3:32 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Opinions on SPSS training courses

I'm wondering if anyone has any direct experience with the training
courses offered by SPSS and would be willing to share
impressions/opinions.  I'm looking at a couple sessions in Chicago next
month.

Thank you.

Mark

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[Gregory Hildebrandt]

Mark,

I have had a one-year training subscription and taken most of the courses,
except those that focus on syntax. However, these were taken a number of
years ago.  Unfortunately the cost of such a subscription (and also the
courses) has gone up guite a bit.

I think that if one had a training subscription and knew a bit about one
area of statistics, say regression analysis, an RV to drive around the
courntry following the courses, and took all the courses twice, one would
end up with a set of skills likely better than would be gained in most
masters programs in statistics.  The courses, however, only address theory
in the most intuitive manner.

The instructors are extremely good (some are incredibly sillled), as are the
manuals one gets from the courses.  Most of the students perfer that the
instructor not spend much time on syntax, except in the sense
that point-click-paste-edit being an efficient way to conduct analysis.
But, even this approach would not be welcomed by many students.  For those
interested in syntax, there are now several courses available.   But my
objective is to always do an analysis using point-click-paste-edit.
Occassionally, one must contend with a data set that is not in Excel or
Access format.  Whenever this is the case, most need to obtain the services
of a real database programmer.  However, one could learn these techniques in
the syntax courses.

Greg



On 11/16/07, Mark Palmberg <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
> I'm wondering if anyone has any direct experience with the training
> courses offered by SPSS and would be willing to share
> impressions/opinions.  I'm looking at a couple sessions in Chicago next
> month.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Mark
>
> To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to
> [hidden email] (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the
> command. To leave the list, send the command
> SIGNOFF SPSSX-L
> For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command
> INFO REFCARD
>

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[Kaeleen Dingle]

Greg,
Are you aware of any SPSS syntax courses that are on-line? I am trying to
use syntax rather than cut-paste but am struggling. I am looking for an on-
line course as I live in Australia.
Cheers
Kaeleen

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[Gregory Hildebrandt]

Kathleen,

Check out  http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/seminars/.

There are several syntax courses offered, which are on my to-do list.  The
UCLA site can also direct you to a wide range of SPSS resources which might
well include other syntax courses.

As suggested in my e-message about courses,  I always look for a
point-click--paste-edit approach first, and get the necessary support if the
data are not in the right format to import to SPSS.

If I was oriented toward leaning syntax, I might be inclined to use a
different stat package.  I was a member of an academic group committed to
SAS, but never could find the time to learn SAS syntax.  Then, when I taught
stat courses to a group committed to SPSS, I was able to make a
comeback conducting applied statistics/econometrics analyses.  True, there
are statistical techniques that might make use of SPSS syntax/script
routines, but I find the range of statistical techniquesin the various SPSS
modules sufficiently wide-ranging that I have never had the need to use
these methods.

As an aside, I took SPSS Tables twice from a person who is likely one of the
leading experts in the world on SPSS Tables.  Under the old SPSS Tables
module with Basic Tables, he took a predominantly syntax-based approach.
Then, when SPSS developed Custom Tables, I retook the course, and even he,
shortly after the module was first introduced, used point-click-paste-edit,
indicating he was not yet fully familiar with the new syntax.

Greg



On 11/17/07, Kaeleen Dingl <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> Greg,
> Are you aware of any SPSS syntax courses that are on-line? I am trying to
> use syntax rather than cut-paste but am struggling. I am looking for an
> on-
> line course as I live in Australia.
> Chbeers
> Kaeleen
>

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[Keith McCormick]

Hi All,

I have taught SPSS courses, so I will restrict my comments to a couple
quick observations.

First, SPSS offers classes in Australia.

http://www.spss.com/au/training/schedule.htm

Second, I thought the comment on Tables interesting. My two cents:

"Old" Tables (several years ago) often required a syntax intervention
to get some pretty basic tables done. One might have argued you
couldn't be a tables power users without the syntax back then. I found
myself all thumbs for about a week or two in the newer one, when we
got it several versions ago. This was especially true for syntax, so
your observation re: your trainer might be quite true.

But ... since its menus are much more complete, I very rarely need to
edit the syntax even years later. If I needed to write the CTABLES
syntax from memory I would be hopeless. If I paste it now, and I do
often, it is usually perfect as is. Then I might convert it into a
macro (or now python), if I want to reuse it often.

Keith
www.keithmccormick.com

On 11/17/07, Gregory Hildebrandt <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Kathleen,
>
> Check out  http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/seminars/.
>
> There are several syntax courses offered, which are on my to-do list.  The
> UCLA site can also direct you to a wide range of SPSS resources which might
> well include other syntax courses.
>
> As suggested in my e-message about courses,  I always look for a
> point-click--paste-edit approach first, and get the necessary support if the
> data are not in the right format to import to SPSS.
>
> If I was oriented toward leaning syntax, I might be inclined to use a
> different stat package.  I was a member of an academic group committed to
> SAS, but never could find the time to learn SAS syntax.  Then, when I taught
> stat courses to a group committed to SPSS, I was able to make a
> comeback conducting applied statistics/econometrics analyses.  True, there
> are statistical techniques that might make use of SPSS syntax/script
> routines, but I find the range of statistical techniquesin the various SPSS
> modules sufficiently wide-ranging that I have never had the need to use
> these methods.
>
> As an aside, I took SPSS Tables twice from a person who is likely one of the
> leading experts in the world on SPSS Tables.  Under the old SPSS Tables
> module with Basic Tables, he took a predominantly syntax-based approach.
> Then, when SPSS developed Custom Tables, I retook the course, and even he,
> shortly after the module was first introduced, used point-click-paste-edit,
> indicating he was not yet fully familiar with the new syntax.
>
> Greg
>
>
>
> On 11/17/07, Kaeleen Dingl <[hidden email]> wrote:
> >
> > Greg,
> > Are you aware of any SPSS syntax courses that are on-line? I am trying to
> > use syntax rather than cut-paste but am struggling. I am looking for an
> > on-
> > line course as I live in Australia.
> > Chbeers
> > Kaeleen
> >
>
> =====================
> To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to
> [hidden email] (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the
> command. To leave the list, send the command
> SIGNOFF SPSSX-L
> For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command
> INFO REFCARD
>

=====================
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