Basic Navigation in SPSS

First, open a new SPSS file and just look at it. What do you notice?

One of the first things that will likely strike you is that it shares many recognizable features with other software programs. Notice, for example, the pull down menus across the top of the file: File, Edit, View, Data, Transform, Analyze, Graphs, Utilities, Window, and Help. Go now to SPSS and click on each menu to get a sense of what it contains. You will quickly see that you will use some menus more frequently than others (e.g., Transform, Analyze, and Graph), but that each menu contains important and valuable functions. You perform the desired function by using the mouse to activate the menu, scrolling to the function or procedure, and then double-clicking.

Right below the pull-down menus is the toolbar. As in other software programs, the toolbar contains buttons for many commonly used functions. Go now to your SPSS file. Run your cursor over each button to see its function. You may or may not be familiar with all of the buttons. Like the pull-down menus, you will use some toolbar buttons more frequently than others.

Another feature SPSS shares with other software programs is that it organizes data in rows and columns. Notice how the rows are numbered and the columns are not. It is common when working with SPSS to use the rows to identify cases (or subjects) and the columns to record measures (or variables) on each case. (The "var" heading for each column, short for "variable", is an easy reminder of this. Below you will learn how to label columns to accurately describe your variables.) For example, if you had reading and math scores for 50 elementary school students, you might label the first column "read" and the second column "math" and enter the reading score for Student 1 on the first line in the first column, and the math score for Student 1 on the first line of the second column, and so on.

One important navigational difference between SPSS and other software programs is the function of the "tab" and "enter" keys. The "tab" key navigates between columns, allowing you to skim across the variables in your data set. When navigating across variables using the "tab" key, you will automatically jump to the next line upon reaching the last variable. The "enter" key navigates within columns. Use the "enter" key to review data points for all cases (or subjects) on the same variable. Note: the "tab" and "enter" keys navigate in the downward direction only, going from top to bottom through the data set. The most versatile navigational key is the cursor arrow. Use the cursor arrow keys to navigate between columns, within columns, and up and down through your data. Go now to SPSS, position your cursor in the first cell, and practice navigating.

At the bottom of the file you see two tabs: Data View and Variable View. These names are suggestive of function. Data View is where you enter and store raw data. You can always access (view) your original data in Data View. Variable View, located on the tab to the right of Data View, is where descriptive information on each variable is entered and stored. Although the arrangement of these functions may suggest a hierarchy of importance, do not be fooled. It is strongly recommended that you enter complete information on each variable as it is added to the data set.