SPSS

Availability

UNIX: SPSS for Unix version 6.14 is installed on Kellogg's server, Skew3. SPSS has stopped releasing UNIX versions, so this is a legacy version.

MS Windows: SPSS for Windows version 15 is installed in the special software machines at the Jacobs and Wieboldt computer laboratories. Through a Northwestern University campus-wide site license , faculty and doctoral students can install SPSS in their university-owned workstations by paying an annual license fee ($77 per year). The MS Windows version includes the Advanced Statistics, Professional Statistics, Tables, Trends, Conjoint, Exact Tests and Missing Values modules for SPSS. All other modules are available from SPSS, Inc. directoy and not through the Northwestern license.

MBA students can buythe SPSS Graduate Pack (which includes the Advanced Models and Regression Models modules) from Northwestern's e-Academy site for $218.65 + shipping and handling. This is full fledged versions of the software, without the limitations (1000 observations, 50 variables) of the SPSS Student version bundled with textbooks

Description

SPSS is a general purpose statistical package with a point and click graphic interface, as well as a scripting language. SPSS is used package in the social sciences, particulary in sociology and psychology.

Vendor information

SPSS
233 S. Wacker Dr., 11th floor
Chicago, 60606
Phone: (800) 543-5815

Support

SPSS Tech Support site

Running SPSS

Unix:

SPSS can ran both under X Windows and in an ASCII terminal session ("plain vanilla").

To ... The command is:

Start an interactive session under X-Windows (with the graphical user interface) spss

Submit a batch job spss -m < innputfile.sps > output.lst

Start an interactive session in ASCII mode spss +m

To see the SPSS menus in ASCII mode Esc-m
(press and hold the "Esc" key, followed by "m")

To end an ASCII mode session Esc-0
(press and hold the "Esc" key, followed by "0", zero)
You will prompted to save your changes.

Start a line mode session spss -m
You will see the SPSS prompt ("SPSS>"), at which you can type SPSS commands.

To end a line mode session finish

Examples and solutions

SPSS syntax examples:

SPSS ships with some examples of SPSS syntax. In skew3, you may access these samples in the following path:

/usr/local/spss-6.13/demo

Manuals available at Research Computing

Manuals online at Kellogg

SPSS for UNIX, Advanced Statistics (release 5.0, 1993)
SPSS for UNIX, Professional Statistics (release 5.0, 1993)
SPSS for UNIX, Base System User's Guide (release 5.0, 1993)
SPSS Base System Syntax Reference Guide (release 5.0, 1992)
SPSS for the IBM RS/6000. User Code (release 5.0, 1993)

Useful links

Introduction to SPSS, Kellogg TEK session offered in the Fall, Winter and Spring terms for students in MKTG-450, Research Methods in Marketing. Uses Student version of SPSS, which is bundled with the MKTG-450 textbook.
Algorithms used by SPSS from SPSS's FTP site (PDF format)
Links to SPSS listservs and newsgroups
SPSS FAQ at Notre Dame's Laboratory for Social Research
SPSS Resources from UCLA's Academic Technology Services
Raynald Levesque's SPSS Tools, a collection of SPSS FAQ, macros, scripts and tips