SPSS Statistics For Dummies, 4th Edition

Chapter 4

Understanding SPSS Data: Defining Metadata

IN THIS CHAPTER

Considering your choices when defining a variable

Defining variables

Entering numbers

To process your data, you have to get it into the computer, but that’s not enough: You also have to declare metadata. Metadata are your variable attributes, and tell SPSS how variables are defined and can be used.

SPSS data has three major components: cases, variables, and metadata. When you receive data, you will rarely have a problem with the cases, occasionally have a problem with the variables, but almost always have a problem with the metadata. In this chapter, you focus on SPSS metadata. (In the next chapter, you see how to bring in cases. We start in this chapter by bringing in the metadata because it's something you always have to do.)

SPSS can read data from a variety of formats, including databases, text files, Microsoft Excel, and SAS. You can also type directly into SPSS — and, if you want, copy the data to places other than SPSS later.

In SPSS, data is organized as cases, and each case is made up of a collection of variables. First, you define the characteristics of the variables that make up a case, and then you ...