Using SPSSin Institutional Research
Presented by Joseph MeyerDirector of Institutional Research
Texas State University-San Marcos
TAIR Pre-Conference WorkshopWednesday, February 28, 2007
South Padre Island, Texas
What We’re Going to Cover
• Importing and exporting data
• Running reports
• Exporting reports
• Using modular programming.
• Using macros
• Using scripts
• Using graphs (maybe a little)
File
Open
Data
File name:cbm004_fall06Files of type: Excel (*.xls)
Import Data from MS Excel
Export Data to MS Excel
File
Save As
File name:cbm004_fall06Save as type: Excel (*.xls)
Types of Reports
Categorical Variables
There are several commands that can be used to report categorical variables:
• Aggregate & Report (very painful)• Frequencies (simple, but inflexible)• Crosstabs (simple, somewhat flexible)• Tables & CTables (complex, flexible)
Examples in “Reporting Categorical Variables” SPSS program.
Continuous (Scale) Variables
There are several commands that can be used to report scale variables:
• Reports (don’t go there)• Weighted frequencies & crosstabs• Descriptives• Tables & CTables
Example in “Reporting Continuous (Scale) Variables” SPSS program.
Multiple-Response Variables
There are a couple of commands that can be used to report on multiple-response sets (MRSETS) of multiple-dichotomy & multiple-response data:
• Mult Response • Tables & CTables
Examples in “Reporting Multiple-Response Sets” SPSS program.
Reporting Separately by Unit
There are other shortcuts that can be used to quickly and efficiently produce reports for many colleges, departments, and units in a hurry:
• Modular programming• Macros• SAX Basic Scripts
Examples in “Reporting Separately by Unit” SPSS program.
Improving the Contents of Reports
String and number functions can be used to increase efficiency in programs, fit more information on a page, and make reports more understandable to readers:
• Any, Index, Range, Concatenate, Substring, Trim, Lower, and Upcase functions can help.
Examples in “String and Number Functions” SPSS program.
“Working with Long Strings” SPSS program.
Improving the Look of ReportsDouble-click on table
Right-click on highlighted table
Table Looks
Edit Look
Exporting Results
Examples in “Reporting Separately by Unit” SPSS program.
File
Export
File Name: ____________File Type: ____________
SPSS Production Mode Facility
Examples of Complex Reports
The techniques we reviewed can be used to create complex ready-to-release reports. Examples are:
• High School Feedback
• Retention and Graduation
• Fact Book
Examples in “Complex Reports” folder.
More Examples
www.ir.txstate.edu
More Resources
www.spsstools.net