Wagner - Using IBM® SPSS® Statistics for Research Methods and Social Science Statistics

In loving memory of Vic Arcabos

Copyright 2015 by SAGE Publications, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wagner, William E. (William Edward)

[Using SPSS for social statistics and research methods]
Using IBM SPSS statistics for research methods and social science statistics / William E. Wagner, III, California State University Channel Islands. Fifth edition.

pages cm
Revision of the authors Using SPSS for social statistics and research methods.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4833-5128-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4833-5126-1 (web pdf)

1. Social sciencesStatistical methods.
2. SPSS for Windows. I. Title.

HA32.W34 2015
300.285555dc23 2013039215

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

14 15 16 17 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents

Preface

T his book was written for those learning introductory statistics or with some basic statistics knowledge who want to use IBM SPSS Statistics software to manage data and/or carry out basic statistical analyses. It can also be a useful tool to gain an understanding of how SPSS Statistics software works before going on to more complicated statistical procedures. This volume is an ideal supplement for a statistics or research methods course. Although it can be used with any research methods or statistics book or materials, this book was tailored to complement all editions of Investigating the Social World, by Russell Schutt, and Social Statistics for a Diverse Society, by Chava Frankfort-Nachmias and Anna Leon-Guerrero (latest editions published in 2011 and 2014, respectively). It can also be used as a guide for those working with basic statistics on their own. The book provides information for users about some of the important mechanics of SPSS Statistics operating procedures for simple data management along with accessible introductory instructions to statistical operations.

References

Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Leon-Guerrero, A. (2014). Social statistics for a diverse society (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Schutt, R. (2011). Investigating the social world (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

IBM SPSS Statistics was formerly called PASW Statistics.

Acknowledgments

M any thanks go to Jerry Westby at SAGE for his support and vision. Anna Leon-Guerrero and Russell Schutt were especially helpful, providing insightful reviews and guidance for earlier editions of this book.

Overview

T his book serves as a guide for those interested in using IBM SPSS Statistics software to assist in statistical data analysiswhether as a companion to a statistics or research methods course, a stand-alone guide for a particular project, or an aid to individual learning. The images and directions used in this book come from IBM SPSS Statistics Version 22.0, first released in August 2013. If you are using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21, you will notice considerable consistency. For anyone using SPSS versions 20 or 19, or even PASW Statistics 18 or earlier, there will be a great deal of consistency with these instructions and images, although there will be some areas where there are differences due to the upgrades in the SPSS Statistics Version 22 software. So, the older your version of SPSS Statistics (or PASW Statistics), the more likely you will see some differences in methods, availability of options, screen views, and output format.

Whats the Difference Between SPSS Statistics and PASW Statistics? None.

There is essentially no difference. The program formerly known simply as SPSS became SPSS Statistics with the Version 17.0 release, and then PASW Statistics with the Version 18.0 release. After SPSS, Inc. became an IBM company in October 2009, the branding going forward was changed so that future releases of the software (Version 19.0 and beyond) are known as IBM SPSS Statistics. When SPSS was originally developed, it stood for Statistical Package in the Social Sciences. The motivation for the PASW (Predictive Analytics Software) branding change was to reflect the considerable reach of the software to more business-oriented realms, although this name is used only for Version 18.

Statistical Software

The SPSS/PASW Statistics software works with several kinds of computer files: data files, output files, and syntax files. Data files are those computer files that contain the information that the user intends to analyze. Output files contain the statistical analysis of these data, often displayed as tables, graphs, and/or charts. Syntax files are computer instructions that tell the SPSS Statistics software what to do. Syntax files are of this book. IBM has discontinued the student version of SPSS software for Version 19 (PASW was the last version for which a limited student version was available) and has not released any information about a student version for Version 22 at the time this book was published.

The General Social Survey (GSS) serves the secondary data set used throughout this book to demonstrate typical functions of the statistical software by example. IBM SPSS Statistics is the software program, produced by SPSS, an IBM company as of 2009, in Chicago, Illinois. The GSS is a data set that is read and analyzed by the SPSS Statistics software; it is a data file containing the information to be analyzed. The two things are distinct and can be used in separate contexts without the other, although the GSS data file used for this book, and available on the companion website, is an SPSS data file and cannot be read without opening it in SPSS Statistics or converting it to another file format suitable for use in another program.

About the GSS Data

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago administers the GSS. The GSS was started in 1972 and continues today. The data used for the examples in this book come from the latest available completed version of the GSS collected in 2012. According to NORC, with the exception of the U.S. Census, the GSS is the most frequently analyzed source of information in the social sciences. NORC acknowledges that there are at least 14,000 instances where the GSS has been used for articles in scholarly journals, books, and doctoral dissertations. Furthermore, it is estimated that more than 400,000 students annually use the GSS in their work.