1What is SPSS?
Chapter Learning Objectives
- History of SPSS
- SPSS uses and capabilities
- Additional statistical programs
- Importance of syntax
Welcome to the first stage of your adventure learning how to use SPSS®, one of the more commonly used statistical software programs. The name SPSS is an acronym for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and is owned and sold by IBM®. As a valuable tool for running statistical analyses, SPSS is currently used by individuals across a variety of fields and disciplines, expanding past its original market solely within the “social sciences”.
SPSS has two primary functions: (1) as a data organizer/manager and (2) as a data analyst. Both parts will be covered in detail throughout this book, and by the end you should be able to not only create and organize data efficiently, but also run statistical analyses based on a variety of data structures. It's important to keep in mind how crucial the process of data organization is, since analyses run on faulty data can lead to incorrect conclusions and some very confusing output from SPSS. Luckily, we are here to steer you in the right direction.
Like most software programs, SPSS is continually being updated, just like your constant Android or iOS mobile updates. SPSS updates are intended to improve the user experience ...
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