create codebook in SPSS Data Builder?

[lisa-23]

hi - we are using SPSS Data Builder for data entry on a large research
project. this program allows us to create screen layouts that mimic the
forms, which helps with data entry, and the data is stored in an spss
table. It seems logical to me that there would be a way to have the
software create a codebook with the screen layout intact and the variable
names added to the layout... am I expecting too much? I cannot find a way
to do this in the help files/google searches, and the spss website is not
very helpful.

Thanks,
Lisa

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[ViAnn Beadle]

I think you are expecting too much automation here.

Why do you want to do this? As documentation to be saved somewhere else? To
help the data cleaning process?

If you want this as documentation, add variable names as static text on your
forms, and export the forms as HTML, open the HTML in Word or something
similar and save that as a permanent record.

If you want this to help in data cleaning process, just add the text to form
and check/clean/edit data in form view.

It's been my experience that what is called a codebook focuses on variable
definitions and provide frequency distributions or other summary statistics.
It might provide some facsimile of the instrument as an appendix--although
the last time I actually saw a codebook from a survey organization was about
10 years ago and it was based on CATI and not paper questionnaire.

-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
lisa
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 10:40 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: create codebook in SPSS Data Builder?

hi - we are using SPSS Data Builder for data entry on a large research
project. this program allows us to create screen layouts that mimic the
forms, which helps with data entry, and the data is stored in an spss
table. It seems logical to me that there would be a way to have the
software create a codebook with the screen layout intact and the variable
names added to the layout... am I expecting too much? I cannot find a way
to do this in the help files/google searches, and the spss website is not
very helpful.

Thanks,
Lisa

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[lisa-23]

Thanks for the reply. I want to use this as a
supplement of sorts to the more traditional list of
variables, since our instrument is large and complex.
It is difficult for people not intimately involved
with the project to tell which variable goes with
which item on the instrument (I wasn't involved in the
variable naming or labeling).

The image of the actual instrument labelled directly
with the variable names is something I've routinely
done in other projects, but with large instruments it
gets very tedious to do manually. I figured since all
of the info is in the SPSS Data Builder system,
including the image, items and variable names, it just
makes sense that it would be able to spit something
like that out. But maybe it's a step they chose not to
take.

Lisa

--- ViAnn Beadle <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I think you are expecting too much automation here.
>
> Why do you want to do this? As documentation to be
> saved somewhere else? To
> help the data cleaning process?
>
> If you want this as documentation, add variable
> names as static text on your
> forms, and export the forms as HTML, open the HTML
> in Word or something
> similar and save that as a permanent record.
>
> If you want this to help in data cleaning process,
> just add the text to form
> and check/clean/edit data in form view.
>
> It's been my experience that what is called a
> codebook focuses on variable
> definitions and provide frequency distributions or
> other summary statistics.
> It might provide some facsimile of the instrument as
> an appendix--although
> the last time I actually saw a codebook from a
> survey organization was about
> 10 years ago and it was based on CATI and not paper
> questionnaire.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SPSSX(r) Discussion
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
> lisa
> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 10:40 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: create codebook in SPSS Data Builder?
>
> hi - we are using SPSS Data Builder for data entry
> on a large research
> project. this program allows us to create screen
> layouts that mimic the
> forms, which helps with data entry, and the data is
> stored in an spss
> table. It seems logical to me that there would be a
> way to have the
> software create a codebook with the screen layout
> intact and the variable
> names added to the layout... am I expecting too
> much? I cannot find a way
> to do this in the help files/google searches, and
> the spss website is not
> very helpful.
>
> Thanks,
> Lisa
>
> =====================
> 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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[Bethany Cockburn-2]

Hi!  We've been using Builder for about 5 years and do not have a suggestion for
what you'd like.  Unless we've missed something (which is possible), I don't
think Builder can make a codebook like that.  We just use the dictionary
command in Base and then spend hours and hours editing it.  If you hear
otherwise from people, I'd love to know because that would nice for our smaller
projects.
Sorry to add confirmation your saddest suspicions!!!
Bethany

Quoting Lisa Didier <[hidden email]>:

> Thanks for the reply. I want to use this as a
> supplement of sorts to the more traditional list of
> variables, since our instrument is large and complex.
> It is difficult for people not intimately involved
> with the project to tell which variable goes with
> which item on the instrument (I wasn't involved in the
> variable naming or labeling).
>
> The image of the actual instrument labelled directly
> with the variable names is something I've routinely
> done in other projects, but with large instruments it
> gets very tedious to do manually. I figured since all
> of the info is in the SPSS Data Builder system,
> including the image, items and variable names, it just
> makes sense that it would be able to spit something
> like that out. But maybe it's a step they chose not to
> take.
>
> Lisa
>
> --- ViAnn Beadle <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> > I think you are expecting too much automation here.
> >
> > Why do you want to do this? As documentation to be
> > saved somewhere else? To
> > help the data cleaning process?
> >
> > If you want this as documentation, add variable
> > names as static text on your
> > forms, and export the forms as HTML, open the HTML
> > in Word or something
> > similar and save that as a permanent record.
> >
> > If you want this to help in data cleaning process,
> > just add the text to form
> > and check/clean/edit data in form view.
> >
> > It's been my experience that what is called a
> > codebook focuses on variable
> > definitions and provide frequency distributions or
> > other summary statistics.
> > It might provide some facsimile of the instrument as
> > an appendix--although
> > the last time I actually saw a codebook from a
> > survey organization was about
> > 10 years ago and it was based on CATI and not paper
> > questionnaire.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: SPSSX(r) Discussion
> > [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of
> > lisa
> > Sent: Friday, October 26, 2007 10:40 AM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: create codebook in SPSS Data Builder?
> >
> > hi - we are using SPSS Data Builder for data entry
> > on a large research
> > project. this program allows us to create screen
> > layouts that mimic the
> > forms, which helps with data entry, and the data is
> > stored in an spss
> > table. It seems logical to me that there would be a
> > way to have the
> > software create a codebook with the screen layout
> > intact and the variable
> > names added to the layout... am I expecting too
> > much? I cannot find a way
> > to do this in the help files/google searches, and
> > the spss website is not
> > very helpful.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Lisa
> >
> > =====================
> > 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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> =====================
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> [hidden email] (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the
> command. To leave the list, send the command
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> For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command
> INFO REFCARD
>

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[Albert-Jan Roskam]

Hi listers,

I am trying to use a batch file (mybat.bat, see below)
with a HOST COMMAND. I was hoping that this way I
could still use UNC notations. But although I tested
the batch file outside SPSS, this still doesn't work
("Host command cannot set the directory to the
location with a CD or INSERT command, because it is
expressed in UNC form. [...] terminated with Exit
status 1".

Is this just not possible? The thing is, I don't know
the drive name definitions of our batch servers. The
only thing I am quite sure of is that they probably
have a dir d:\temp.

Thank you in advance for your replies!

Best wishes,
Albert-Jan

*** the 'call' of the batch file ****.
cd 'c:\mydocs\'.
host command = ['mybat.bat code_with >mybat.log'].

***** the contents of mybat.bat *****
@echo on

net use x: /delete
net use y: /delete

:: --source dir --
net use x:
\\Server1\Share1\documents\Temp\aj\project2\tmp

:: --destination dir --
net use y:
\\Server1\Share1\documents\Temp\aj\project2\@final_output_syntaxes\test123


if errorlevel 1 goto ERROR
if %1 == code_with goto code_with
if %1 == code_without goto code_without
if %1 == inst_with goto INST_with
if %1 == inst_without goto INST_without

:ERROR
cls
echo ****
echo Error: use suffix: code_with, code_without,
inst_with, of inst_without
echo ****
goto END

:code_with
copy /y x:\procedures2005_code_nw.* y:\with_overlap\
goto END

:code_without
copy /y x:\procedures2005_code_nw_no.*
y:\without_overlap\
goto END

:INST_with
copy /y x:\procedures2005_inst_nw.* y:\with_overlap\
goto END

:INST_without
copy /y x:\procedures2005_inst_nw_no.*
y:\without_overlap\
goto END

:END



Cheers!
Albert-Jan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you know that 87.166253% of all statistics claim a precision of results that is not justified by the method employed? [HELMUT RICHTER]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[Hal 9000]

Lisa,
I've always found that file>display data information from the
datasheet window produced a usable codebook - although it's not a
practice I use anymore, it's what I'd do if I wanted one.
Good Luck,
-Gary

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