InfoGuides: Software for Digital Scholarship: SPSS

SPSS statistical software is now owned by IBM, a previous version was called PASW. SPSS has many different modules, and not all installations have all modules. So, be careful. SPSS is mostly point-and-click, which makes the learning curve low. It does have syntax, which is important to be aware of and keep for reproducibility of analysis. The syntax is laborious, however, and those who can program are likely to prefer using Stata or R.

Access to SPSS

Available in all ITS Labs and the DiSC Lab
On the Virtual Computing Lab
Free Trial - 30 days
Grad Students can purchase for home use from Hearne Software (or others)

Consider also these Free, Open-Source alternatives:

PSPP - intentional look-alike which can do data management and basic statistics
Jamovi - R-based interface with familiar features, can do more advanced statistics
Blue Sky Statistics - (Windows Only) R-based SPSS-like interface has tons of features

Data Preparation, Exploration, and Graphing

SPSS for Data Preparation and Exploration

Video Courses

Introduction to SPSS (Research By Design; Dr. Todd Daniel, Business)
- Nicely organized and well-produced with some good tips and examples, with additional entertaining elements.
- Introduction to Statistics with SPSS 27 for Beginners (with Puppies) - 8 video playlist (~2.5 hrs)
- Diving Deeper into SPSS for Beginners - 12 video playlist
SPSS course for beginners (Data for Development)
- Great for true beginners that want to follow along and don't need anything fancy.
- See also Learn SPSS in 15 minutes
SPSS Statistics Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)
- A good middle-of-the-road series combining data prep and analysis without getting too detailed in either, well-presented at a good pace that is easy to follow along.
SPSS Tutorials (Data Demystified: Jeff Galak, Marketing)
- A small number of videos walk-through of a dataset from the very beginning, at a fast pace with intermediate-level tips.
SPSS Tutorials (London School of Economics)
- A small number of short videos for those who have basic knowledge and just need a little help to get going.
SPSS tutorials for beginners (Nienke de Glas, Clinical Epidemiology)
- An experienced user shows newer researchers how to do common tasks and be efficient.
- How to use Syntax in SPSS (~10 min)

Video (Unorganized)

BrunelASK YouTube Channel (Brunel University ASK)
- Library-prduced large collection of ~5 min videos on specific topics. Great if you know what you need to do.

Text

SPSS Tutorials from Kent State University Libraries Statistical Consulting
- Well done explanations of basic tasks with many screenshots and syntax.
Data Management using SPSS from MANTRA: Research Data Management Training
- 26pg workbook using syntax, given step-by-step but quite detailed to convey principles of data management
Passion-Driven Statistics (choose the SPSS tab) - Non-software videos with accompanying PDF handouts for SPSS:
- Working with Data (#4) - Sorting, selecting, labeling, subsetting, and frequency tables
- Data Management ($5) - Recoding and Computing
- Univariate Graphing & Bivariate Graphing

Statistical Analyses

See more about the theory and interpretation of statistical tests in our Data Analysis & Statistics InfoGuide

SPSS for Statistical Testing

All include Correlation, T-Tests (all 3) OneWay, Repeated Measures, Factorial/Two-Way ANOVA, Linear and Binary Logistic Regression unless specified.

Video

Statistical Analyses Using SPSS (Dr. Todd Grande, Psychology) - A large and wide variety of tests (including non-parametric and assumption checking) along with videos on specific circumstances.
SPSS Statistics Essential Training (Barton Paulson, LinkedIn Learning) - also includes Clustering and Classification analyses
SPSS Tutorials (Data Demystified; Jeff Galik, Marketing) - also Clustering and Classification analyses and extra coverage of specific techniques and situations.
SPSS Tutorials (London School of Economics) also includes 3-way Chi-Square, only includes Independent-samples T-Test.
Statistics + SPSS (Quantitative Specialists) - playlists on various analyses and statistical concepts.

Text

NYU's Quantitative Analysis Guide - Look-up table to choose a statistical test, with links to tutorials on the IBM, Laerd and UCLA sites.
- IBM's Knowledge Base and SPSS Tutorials - Best for explanations of each option in dialog boxes. Mostly without screenshots.
- Laerd Statistics - Very detailed assumption checking with a specific situation and complete example.
  - ~$5 a month; much content free if accessed through searches or links
- UCLA ATS Statistical Computing-SPSS - Wide variety of text-only tutorials using Syntax at an intermediate/advanced level
  - See especially the Examples and Annotated Output
Psychology Resource Archive by University of Nebraska Department of Psychology - Includes a wide variety of simple and advanced analyses separately based on specific circumstances.
- Short (2-3 pg) handout includes real example, showing point-and-click and syntax setup, annotated output and a sample writeup
- Best if you know exactly what you need to do and you like a lot of information in a small space.
Karl Wuensch's SPSS Lessons by Karl Wuensch, East Carolina University - also includes MANOVA, PCA, Path analysis, DFA, and many special circumstances.
- Dozens of lengthy (10-20pg) Word Documents including theory and interpretation along with setup (see also Statistics Lessons)
- Best for intermediate or advanced students who want and need theoretical details.
SPSS Tutorials by Ruben Geert van den Berg - also includes Factor Analysis, several types of correlations, and specific circumstances
- Best if you want to use syntax and want something user-friendly.
Basic Statistical Methods for Social Science Sourcebook: SPSS by Craig A. Wendorf - no Regressions
- Annotated Output and Hand Calculation Formulas.
- Best if you mostly need to understand details such as calculations or elements of output without as much context.
SPSS Tutorials from Kent State University Libraries Statistical Consulting -only One-Way ANOVA and no Regression, but others are well done.
- Best for new researchers that only need simple analyses.
Passion-Driven Statistics (choose the SPSS tab) - Conceptually organized into ANOVA, Chi-Square, Correlation, Moderation, and Multivariate Models
- Moderate-length PDFs explaining a few different scenarios for each
- Best for those who want to think conceptually and don't mind reading.