How to Use Pasw Statistics

A Step-By-Step Guide to Analysis and Interpretation

Brian. C. Cronk, Brian C. Cronk

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781884585920
• eBook ISBN: 9781000149845
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Computer Science

• Designed for use by novice computer users, this text begins with the basics, such as starting SPSS, defining variables, and entering and saving data.

• All major statistical techniques covered in beginning statistics classes are included:

· descriptive statistics

· graphing data

· prediction and association

· parametric inferential statistics

· nonparametric inferential statistics

· statistics for test construction

• Each section starts with a brief description of the statistic that is covered and important underlying assumptions, which help students select appropriate statistics.

• Each section describes how to interpret results and express them in a research report after the data are analyzed. For example, students are shown how to phrase the results of a significant and an insignificant t test.

• More than 200 screenshots (including sample output) throughout the book show students exactly what to expect as they follow along using SPSS.

• A glossary of statistical terms is included, which makes a handy reference for students who need to review the meanings of basic statistical terms.

• Practice exercises throughout the book give students stimulus material to use as they practice to achieve mastery of the program.

• Thoroughly field-tested; your students are certain to appreciate this book.

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Section 1.1 Starting PASW

Startup procedures for PASW will differ slightly, depending on the exact configuration of the machine on which it is installed. On most computers, you can start PASW by clicking on Start, then clicking on Programs, then SPSS, Inc., then PASW. On many installations, there will be a PASW icon on the desktop that you can double-click to start the program.

When PASW is started, you may be presented with the dialog box to the left, depending on the options your system administrator selected for your version of the program. If you have the dialog box, click Type in data and OK, which will present a blank data window.¹

¹ Items that appear in the Glossary are presented in bold. Italics are used to indicate menu items.

If you were not presented with the dialog box above, PASW should open automatically with a blank data window.

The data window and the output window provide the basic interface for PASW. A blank data window is shown here.

Section 1.2 Entering Data

One of the keys to success with PASW is knowing how it stores and uses your data. To illustrate the basics of data entry with PASW, we will use Example 1.2.1.

Example 1.2.1

A survey was given to several students from four different classes (Tues/Thurs mornings, Tues/Thurs afternoons, Mon/Wed/Fri mornings, and Mon/Wed/Fri afternoons). The students were asked whether or not they were "morning people" and whether or not they worked. This survey also asked for their final grade in the class (100% being the highest grade possible). The response sheets from two students are presented below:

Response Sheet 1
ID:	4593
Day of class:		MWF	X	TTh
Class time:		Morning	X	Afternoon
Are you a morning person?		Yes	X	No
Final grade in class:	85%
Do you work outside school?		Full-time		Part-time
	X	No
Response Sheet 2
ID:	1901
Day of class:	X	MWF		TTh
Class time:	X	Morning		Afternoon
Are you a morning person?	X	Yes		No
Final grade in class:	83%
Do you work outside school?		Full-time	X	Part-time
		No

Our goal is to enter the data from the two students into PASW for use in future analyses. The first step is to determine the variables that need to be entered. Any information that can vary among participants is a variable that needs to be considered. Example 1.2.2 lists the variables we will use.

Example 1.2.2

• ID
• Day of class
• Class time
• Morning person
• Final grade
• Whether or not the student works outside school

In the PASW data window, columns represent variables and rows represent participants. Therefore, we will be creating a data file with six columns (variables) and two rows (students/participants). The paragraphs that immediately follow describe concepts that will apply to our example. The actual steps for you to follow are presented under the heading Practice Exercise on page 4.

Section 1.3 Defining Variables

Before we can enter any data, we must first enter some basic information about each variable into PASW. For instance, variables must first be given names that

• begin with a letter, and
• do not contain a space.

Thus, the variable name "Q7" is acceptable, while the variable name "7Q" is not. Similarly, the variable name "PRE_TEST" is acceptable, but the variable name "PRE_TEST" is not. Capitalization doe...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Getting Started
• Chapter 2 Entering and Modifying Data
• Chapter 3 Descriptive Statistics
• Chapter 4 Graphing Data
• Chapter 5 Prediction and Association
• Chapter 6 Parametric Inferential Statistics
• Chapter 7 Nonparametric Inferential Statistics
• Chapter 8 Test Construction
• Appendix A Effect Size
• Appendix B Practice Exercise Data Sets
• Appendix C Glossary
• Appendix D Sample Data Files Used in Text