Introduction
Welcome to the Introduction to SPSS module. This module provides an introduction to using the statistical software SPSS, which is installed on most computers at Curtin's Australian campuses. Note that if you would like access on a personal compute you can purchase a Grad Pack version of the software if you are a student, or you can follow these instructions for a free download if you are an Australian-based Curtin staff member. Alternatively, anyone can register for a free trial at the IBM website.
The module covers the key ways you can use the software to analyse quantitative data, and uses some small data sets as examples. The idea is that you can then apply these same concepts to any data of your own, regardless of your discipline or the amount of data you have.
Note that if you are not familiar with some or all of the statistical concepts mentioned in this module, you may find it useful to work through the Introduction to statistics module first.
If you have any questions about this module, please contact Library-UniSkills@curtin.edu.au
What you will learn
- How to set up variables and enter data in SPSS (skip to Getting started)
- How to use SPSS to calculate simple descriptive statistics (skip to Descriptive statistics)
- How to use SPSS to create simple charts (skip to Charts)
- How to transform data (skip to Transformations)
- How to use SPSS to test whether continuous variables are normally distributed (skip to The normal distribution)
- How to obtain and interpret confidence intervals in SPSS (skip to Inferential statistics)
- How to conduct t-tests and one-way ANOVA in SPSS (skip to Inferential statistics)
- How to test for relationships between pairs of continuous and categorical variables using Pearson's correlation and the Chi square test (respectively) in SPSS (skip to Inferential statistics)
- How to work with subsets of data, and with multiple response data (skip to Extras)
- How to use the SPSS syntax to write commands and automate processes (skip to Extras)
