Student Guide to SPSS
Locked
 
|
This introductory guide by Dan Flynn is really for biology students, but it’s nicely written and easy to follow. It uses GUI rather than syntax, and you can skip the science bits, but still get a feel for SPSS. https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/student_user_guide_for_spss.pdf I think he’s now moved to Zurich as the other links to Barnard College don’t work. John 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 |
Administrator
|
Re skipping the science bits, it looks like one would have to skip some of the statistical advice too. E.g., see the bottom of p. 23.
"Currently age is a continuous variable, and we could analyze it as such. But a simpler approach would be to convert ("Transform", in SPSS) this variable as categorical, and take advantage of the robust and easy-to-interpret chi square test." Yikes!
--
Bruce Weaver bweaver@lakeheadu.ca http://sites.google.com/a/lakeheadu.ca/bweaver/ "When all else fails, RTFM." PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: 1. My Hotmail account is not monitored regularly. To send me an e-mail, please use the address shown above. 2. The SPSSX Discussion forum on Nabble is no longer linked to the SPSSX-L listserv administered by UGA (https://listserv.uga.edu/). |
|
|
Bruce
You're quibbling. It's an introduction to SPSS, not statistics. and is perfectly fine for absolute beginners, even in sociology. I don't get to chi-square in my tutorials until 625 pages in, and even then it's built up step-by-step from real data, not chucked as a take-it-or-leave-it formula like many textbooks do. It's also the only formula on my site so far. See: http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/9/8/2998485/4.2.1_income_differ ences__statistical_significance.pdf John -----Original Message----- From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Bruce Weaver Sent: 09 November 2014 13:50 To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: Student Guide to SPSS Re skipping the science bits, it looks like one would have to skip some of the statistical advice too. E.g., see the bottom of p. 23. "Currently age is a continuous variable, and we could analyze it as such. But a simpler approach would be to convert ("Transform", in SPSS) this variable as categorical, and take advantage of the robust and easy-to-interpret chi square test." Yikes! John F Hall wrote > This introductory guide by Dan Flynn is really for biology students, > but it's nicely written and easy to follow. It uses GUI rather than > syntax, and you can skip the science bits, but still get a feel for > SPSS. > > https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/student_user_guide_for_ > spss.p > df > > I think he's now moved to Zurich as the other links to Barnard College > don't work. > > John > > John F Hall (Mr) > [Retired academic survey researcher] > > Email: <mailto: > johnfhall@ > > > johnfhall@ > > Website: <http://www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/> > www.surveyresearch.weebly.com > SPSS start page: > <http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop.html&g > t; www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop > > > > > ===================== > To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > LISTSERV@.UGA > (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 ----- -- Bruce Weaver [hidden email] http://sites.google.com/a/lakeheadu.ca/bweaver/ "When all else fails, RTFM." NOTE: My Hotmail account is not monitored regularly. To send me an e-mail, please use the address shown above. -- View this message in context: http://spssx-discussion.1045642.n5.nabble.com/Student-Guide-to-SPSS-tp572784 5p5727846.html Sent from the SPSSX Discussion mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ===================== 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 ===================== 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 |
|
Administrator
|
John, I understand that one may not be able to discuss some more complicated models in an introductory course. But carving quantitative variables into categories prior to statistical analysis (in the absence of some compelling reason for doing so) is a very bad practice that should be discouraged, IMO, and examples like that one encourage it. If one feels they must carve into categories for an intro course example, there should at the very least be some acknowledgement that this is a sub-optimal method of analysis. Again...my opinion! ;-)
Cheers, Bruce
--
Bruce Weaver bweaver@lakeheadu.ca http://sites.google.com/a/lakeheadu.ca/bweaver/ "When all else fails, RTFM." PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: 1. My Hotmail account is not monitored regularly. To send me an e-mail, please use the address shown above. 2. The SPSSX Discussion forum on Nabble is no longer linked to the SPSSX-L listserv administered by UGA (https://listserv.uga.edu/). |
|
It is my opinion too!
Bill William B. Ware, Ph.D. McMichael Term Professor of Education, 2011-2013 Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation CB #3500 - 118 Peabody Hall University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 Office: (919)-962-0132 Fax: (919)-962-1533 Office: 118 Peabody Hall EMAIL: [hidden email] Adjunct Professor, School of Social Work Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars at UNC-Chapel Hill -----Original Message----- From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Bruce Weaver Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2014 1:26 PM To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: Student Guide to SPSS John, I understand that one may not be able to discuss some more complicated models in an introductory course. But carving quantitative variables into categories prior to statistical analysis (in the absence of some compelling reason for doing so) is a very bad practice that should be discouraged, IMO, and examples like that one encourage it. If one feels they must carve into categories for an intro course example, there should at the very least be some acknowledgement that this is a sub-optimal method of analysis. Again...my opinion! ;-) Cheers, Bruce John F Hall wrote > Bruce > > You're quibbling. It's an introduction to SPSS, not statistics. and > is perfectly fine for absolute beginners, even in sociology. > > I don't get to chi-square in my tutorials until 625 pages in, and even > then it's built up step-by-step from real data, not chucked as a > take-it-or-leave-it formula like many textbooks do. It's also the > only formula on my site so far. > > See: > http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/uploads/2/9/9/8/2998485/4.2.1_income_ > differ > ences__statistical_significance.pdf > > John > > -----Original Message----- > From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto: > SPSSX-L@.UGA > ] On Behalf Of > Bruce Weaver > Sent: 09 November 2014 13:50 > To: > SPSSX-L@.UGA > Subject: Re: Student Guide to SPSS > > Re skipping the science bits, it looks like one would have to skip > some of the statistical advice too. E.g., see the bottom of p. 23. > > "Currently age is a continuous variable, and we could analyze it as such. > But a simpler approach would be to convert ("Transform", in SPSS) this > variable as categorical, and take advantage of the robust and > easy-to-interpret chi square test." > > Yikes! > > > > John F Hall wrote >> This introductory guide by Dan Flynn is really for biology students, >> but it's nicely written and easy to follow. It uses GUI rather than >> syntax, and you can skip the science bits, but still get a feel for >> SPSS. >> >> https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/student_user_guide_for >> _ >> spss.p >> df >> >> I think he's now moved to Zurich as the other links to Barnard >> College don't work. >> >> John >> >> John F Hall (Mr) >> [Retired academic survey researcher] >> >> Email: <mailto: > >> johnfhall@ > >> > > >> johnfhall@ > >> >> Website: <http://www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/> >> www.surveyresearch.weebly.com >> SPSS start page: >> <http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop.html& >> g t; www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop >> >> >> >> >> ===================== >> To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > >> LISTSERV@.UGA > >> (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 > > > > > > ----- > -- > Bruce Weaver > bweaver@ > http://sites.google.com/a/lakeheadu.ca/bweaver/ > > "When all else fails, RTFM." > > NOTE: My Hotmail account is not monitored regularly. > To send me an e-mail, please use the address shown above. > > -- > View this message in context: > http://spssx-discussion.1045642.n5.nabble.com/Student-Guide-to-SPSS-tp > 572784 > 5p5727846.html > Sent from the SPSSX Discussion mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > ===================== > To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > LISTSERV@.UGA > (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 > > ===================== > To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > LISTSERV@.UGA > (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 ----- -- Bruce Weaver [hidden email] http://sites.google.com/a/lakeheadu.ca/bweaver/ "When all else fails, RTFM." NOTE: My Hotmail account is not monitored regularly. To send me an e-mail, please use the address shown above. -- View this message in context: http://spssx-discussion.1045642.n5.nabble.com/Student-Guide-to-SPSS-tp5727845p5727851.html Sent from the SPSSX Discussion mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ===================== 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 ===================== 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 |
|
In reply to this post by Bruce Weaver
Students do need to think of things 1 step at a time. However, I concur with Bruce that when we do something like coarsening a variable to keep things simple, we should use that as an opportunity to point out that we are doing so ONLY to start an introduction and that it is generaly a poor thing to do in the long run. Training wheels are great IFF we make it clear that they are training wheels.
That also goes for any intro that that uses only GUI. We should make it clear that once they have "learned the alphabet they will later go on to use words and perhaps also sentences". Student versions of SPSS should automatically display the syntax and then have a second button for "go".
Art Kendall
Social Research Consultants |
|
|
Art
I read through the article very quickly skipped everything after "continuous". I agree with you and Bruce, but it's the sort of example I would have used myself to keep tables small. I've done exactly the same in my chi-square tutorial, by reducing 13 income groups to three. It's much easier to demonstrate chi-square on 6 cells then on twenty-six. However I have always advised that grouping loses information. I would have used FREQUENCIES for age first, then RECODE rather than Visual Binner to choose the groups, but that's just habit. Incidentally Barnard College have been re-organising their web-site. Dan Flynn's article is on: https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/student_user_guide_for_spss.p df . . and their other SPSS stuff is on: https://barnard.edu/search/site?search=spss Most of the SPSS analysis stuff is statistical rather than sociological, but they do use the 2012 GSS. To date I've found only two examples of CROSSTABS: one is buried in a chi-square example, the other is a single table with both row and col %%. I can't find any examples where tabulation is used to perform a logical analysis. Some of the links under SPSS are actually to Stata examples. John 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 -----Original Message----- From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Art Kendall Sent: 09 November 2014 20:35 To: [hidden email] Subject: Re: Student Guide to SPSS Students do need to think of things 1 step at a time. However, I concur with Bruce that when we do something like coarsening a variable to keep things simple, we should use that as an opportunity to point out that we are doing so ONLY to start an introduction and that it is generaly a poor thing to do in the long run. Training wheels are great *IFF* we make it clear that they are training wheels. That also goes for any intro that that uses only GUI. We should make it clear that once they have "learned the alphabet they will later go on to use words and perhaps also sentences". Student versions of SPSS should automatically display the syntax and *then* have a second button for "go". ----- Art Kendall Social Research Consultants -- View this message in context: http://spssx-discussion.1045642.n5.nabble.com/Student-Guide-to-SPSS-tp572784 5p5727852.html Sent from the SPSSX Discussion mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ===================== 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 ===================== 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 |
|
|
In reply to this post by Bruce Weaver
An approach I see all too often in health science epidemiology is to take a continuous variable, something like a factor score of nutrition, divide it into quintiles, and then contrast the health outcome (e.g.; obesity) for only the 2 extreme quintiles of diet. Oh, and probably “adjust for” (via ANCOVA) several variables like age without ever testing for homogeneity of slopes.
Yikes indeed. Ian On 09Nov, 2014, at 7:49 AM, Bruce Weaver <[hidden email]> wrote: > Re skipping the science bits, it looks like one would have to skip some of > the statistical advice too. E.g., see the bottom of p. 23. > > "Currently age is a continuous variable, and we could analyze it as such. > But a simpler approach would be to convert ("Transform", in SPSS) this > variable as categorical, and take advantage of the robust and > easy-to-interpret chi square test." > > Yikes! > > > > John F Hall wrote >> This introductory guide by Dan Flynn is really for biology students, but >> it's nicely written and easy to follow. It uses GUI rather than syntax, >> and >> you can skip the science bits, but still get a feel for SPSS. >> >> https://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/student_user_guide_for_spss.p >> df >> >> I think he's now moved to Zurich as the other links to Barnard College >> don't >> work. >> >> John >> >> John F Hall (Mr) >> [Retired academic survey researcher] >> >> Email: <mailto: > >> johnfhall@ > >> > > >> johnfhall@ > >> >> Website: <http://www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/> >> www.surveyresearch.weebly.com >> SPSS start page: >> <http://surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop.html> >> www.surveyresearch.weebly.com/1-survey-analysis-workshop >> >> >> >> >> ===================== >> To manage your subscription to SPSSX-L, send a message to > >> LISTSERV@.UGA > >> (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 > > > > > > ----- > -- > Bruce Weaver > [hidden email] > http://sites.google.com/a/lakeheadu.ca/bweaver/ > > "When all else fails, RTFM." > > NOTE: My Hotmail account is not monitored regularly. > To send me an e-mail, please use the address shown above. > > -- > View this message in context: http://spssx-discussion.1045642.n5.nabble.com/Student-Guide-to-SPSS-tp5727845p5727846.html > Sent from the SPSSX Discussion mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > ===================== > 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 ===================== 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 |
«
Return to SPSSX Discussion
|
1 view|%1 views
| Free forum by Nabble | Edit this page |