IBM SPSS Essentials, 2nd Edition

16Using Your Output

Chapter Menu

• Chapter Learning Objectives
• Problem Solving
• Maximizing Output Information
• Summary

Chapter Learning Objectives

1. Problem solving with haikus
   1. a. Offending word
   2. b. Column location
2. Double‐clicking in output files

Congratulations! You're now an SPSS pro – you possess enough knowledge to be truly dangerous. The current chapter further hones your ninja‐like skills by teaching you how to maximize the utility of your output files.

Problem Solving

Output files not only show up when you anticipate – sometimes they appear unexpectedly. This most commonly happens when you make an error with your syntax (say, you miss a period or put a comma where a space should be). When this happens, an output file pops up and reports the indiscretion. Here's what you do with these “.spv” intruders:

1. Take note of these elements:
   1. a. The offending word.
   2. b. The column location of the error – if provided (we will say more about this later in the chapter).
2. Close out of the .spv file – don't save it when you are prompted to do so.
3. Change your syntax based on the location and offending word.
4. Rerun your syntax and loop back to #1 if another error message pops up.
5. Figure 16.1 provides a handy diagram of the cycle.

Spaces in All the Wrong Places

As shown in Figure 16.2, we've introduced two common errors into the “add value labels” syntax from Chapter 6. Even with ...