PLS 209 Research Methods
Homework #2 Introduction to SPSS
Due February 22, 2008  

       The assignment is your first use of SPSS, which you will again use in other homework assignments

        ---find a machine with SPSS installed
        ---open an existing SPSS file
        ---produce frequency tables and bar charts for 2 variables
        ---print the results contained in the output window

Step1:  Read
        Review one of the online tutorials on starting SPSS (e.g., Sections 3 and 5 of the SPSS tutorial http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/training/SPSS/)
        Read the Readme.txt file on the CD that came with the Nachmias text,  
        Also skim the codebook file for to see what variables are in the file

Step 2:   Locate a machine with SPSS installed.
        You will find SPSS installed on the PCs in the library,  and Baker 154

Step 3:  Open the gss04worth.sav file on the floppy disk using SPSS
        Place the CD in the cd drive and in Explorer window that opens
        double click on the file name gss04worth.sav.  
                    You should something similar to the following

If the computer does not recognize the file as an SPSS file:
        Start the SPSS program from the program menu or desktop icon
        From the File menu, select  Open,  then select Data,  then move to the CD drive and
        select the file.

Step 4 Generate the Statistics and Bar Chart
        From the Analyze menu select Descriptive Statistics, then select Frequencies
        A window like the following should open

        Click on Charts, in the window that opens click on Bar Charts, the clink on Percentages, and then Click on Continue
        In the left window highlight polviews and then click the right  arrow
         When polviews appears in the right window, click on OK

If in the left window you have the variables labels rather than the variable names, look for
 "THINK OF SELF AS LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE"

If all worked properly, an output window containing a frequency table and a bar chart should appear.

Step 5 Print the Output
        Click on the printer icon or select print from the file menu.
        If you cannot print from the computer with SPSS installed, save each object in the output 
        file to a WORD document that you can print elsewhere. (i.e., put the cursor over the
        barchart, right click, and select copy and then paste this into a blank WORD file) 

Step 6 Another Variable
        Repeat steps 4 and 5 for another variable that you think should be related to political views
       

   Return to PLS 209 Home Page

Larry Aspin    aspin at bradley.edu
Dept of Political Science
Bradley University