Calculating BDI score with SPSS20

Posted by benfranklin23 on Dec 15, 2011; 7:42pm
URL: http://spssx-discussion.165.s1.nabble.com/Calculating-BDI-score-with-SPSS20-tp5078520.html

I am a novice SPSS user and have (I believe) a fairly straightforward question, but don't know the correct terminology, so have been unable to find an answer online. I apologize in advance if this question is simplistic!

I want to calculate scores for the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and already know how to create a variable for the total score (I have numbered responses of 0-3 for each question, and for most questions it is just a matter of adding up the responses) . However, question 19 has two parts. Part A is a normal 0-3 scale, but Part B has a yes or no response. If the response is "yes", part A should not be included in the total score, but if the response is "no" than Part A needs to be added.

What is the correct terminology for the calculation I need to do, and can anyone explain to me how to do it?

Thanks a lot!