SPSS syntax / data management course; Sheffield - Nov 2009

[Christopher Stride]

Hi
A update/advert for the statistics/data management courses provided by
Figure It Out, the statistical consultancy unit at the Institute of Work
Psychology, University of Sheffield, in November 2009. These small group
courses, with a maximum of 10 participants, are particularly aimed at
researchers, practitioners and postgraduate students from the fields of
psychology, HR, management, sociology, and the social sciences more
generally.

This series of courses is now almost all sold out but we have a couple
of places left to fill, as follows:

* Data Management using SPSS Syntax: Thursday 12th November 2009 (2
PLACES LEFT)
- http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/FIO/training121109.htm

* Introduction to Structural Equation Modelling using MPlus: Friday 13th
November 2009 (NOW SOLD OUT)
- http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/FIO/training131109.htm

* Multi-level Modelling using SPSS: Thursday 26th November 2009 (NOW
SOLD OUT)
- http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/FIO/training261109.htm

* Introduction to Structural Equation Modelling using MPlus (i.e. a
repeat of the course on 13/11): Friday 27th November 2009 (NOW SOLD OUT)

The standard rate for each course is £275, the student rate is £200. If
you attend two or more of the courses you get a further 50 pound
discount on the total cost.

Details of the courses are given below: for further information and to
book a place, go to
http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/FIO/trainingcourses.htm

Note that the course booking secretary has changed from previous events,
and is now Charlotte McClelland: [hidden email]

These courses, plus two further courses (on Multiple Regression, and
Questionnaire Scale Construction and Validation), are also available on
an inhouse basis: see
http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/FIO/bespoketraining.htm

cheers
Chris



******* Course details for each course are as follows: *******


-|- Data management using SPSS syntax -|-

Thursday 12th November, 2009; 9.45am to 5.15pm, at IWP, University of
Sheffield -|-

-|- Who is the course aimed at?
This course is aimed at a very wide audience, namely anyone who ever has
to handle data using SPSS! There are very few grey areas in managing
data - your data is either accurate or it is not. And if it is not, then
it is more than likely that the results from your analysis of it will be
incorrect too. Learn to improve your data managment skills and hence
create more time for the more interesting parts of a study i.e. the
analysis of it, safe in the knowledge that you are working from an
accurate, fully documented data set.

Using the SPSS syntax language to import, organise and manipulate your
data is substantially more efficient time-wise than using the menus, and
has the dual advantages of simple repeatability and of providing an
audit trail for your work. Course examples and data sets will largely
come from survey data, but the skills learned are applicable and widely
transferable to an incredibly wide variety of scenarios.

-|- Course level:
Whilst some previous experience of using SPSS via the menus (i.e. point
and click) is expected, no previous experience in using the SPSS syntax
language is required.

-|- Course content and aims:
The course will cover the following topics:
- Starting with syntax - why use SPSS syntax, the basics of writing and
running syntax; determining when your command runs
- Some simple SPSS commands - opening and saving files, describing data
via frequencies, descriptives and crosstabs
- Reading data into SPSS from other formats - handling text format,
Excel format data,
- Defining and documenting data, variable names, variable labels, value
labels, missing value, formatting data
- Creating new variables - recoding, computing, count, performing
calculations on subsets via DO IF - END IF, making multiple calculations
using DO REPEAT loops
- Manipulating cases - selecting subsets of data for analysis, filtering
files, splitting files, sorting cases
- Manipulating files - aggregating files, restructuring files, matching
files, adding cases, updating files
- Data Management: a worked example - best practice for creating and
managing a complex data set

-|- Course Format:
The course will take the form of a mixture of teaching via examples
worked through by the trainer on real data sets which participants can
follow, exercises to practice the skills just learned, and a few short
demonstrations of the further capabilities of SPSS syntax. You will also
receive a 50-page coursebook containg all the notes and worked examples,
providing an easy reference and reminder for the techniques you have
learned.

-|- Course schedule:
The course will start at 9.45am, with a lunch break from 1pm-2pm, and
short coffee breaks at 11.30am and 3.30pm. It will finish at around 5pm,
though I will be willing to stay on for a while after this and to answer
questions pertinent to participants' own data sets or any other
multi-level modelling queries you may have.

For further information and to book a place, go to
http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/FIO/trainingcourses.htm


***************************************

The trainer:
Dr Chris Stride has been using SPSS in his work as a statistician and
data manager for the last 12 years. He has particular experience and
expertise in teaching non-statisticians from the fields of psychology,
HR, management and the social sciences. He is a Chartered Statistician
and a member of the ASSESS (UK SPSS Users Group) Committee; and has been
running statistical training courses at the University of Sheffield and
on an inhouse basis to Universities and Public Sector organisations over
the past few years.

--
Dr Chris Stride, C. Stat,
Statistician, Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

“Figure It Out”
Statistical Consultancy and Training Service for Social Scientists

Visit www.figureitout.org.uk for details of my consultancy services
and forthcoming training courses in November 2009:
 - Data Management using SPSS Syntax
 - Multilevel Modelling using SPSS
 - Structural Equation Modelling using MPlus

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