How do I create categories for a variable in SPSS?

Categorizing a variable into new categories simply requires that you create a categorical variable with the new levels that you set to establish each category. For example, if you want to create regional categories for states, then you might wish to indicate that South Carolina is in the southeast and New York is in the northeast. In this case "southeast" and "northeast" will be two of the levels in a new variable that you create to indicate the region of the country that the state is in. To do this, switch to the variable view in SPSS. Create a new variable (e.g., region). Make certain that the decimals column is set to "0" because you want to create a categorical variable, not a quantitative one. In the values column, click on the dots in the cell that is in the row of your new variable. This will bring up a dialog box in which you can enter values and labels (e.g., 1 = southeast). Once all of the levels have been defined, you can switch back to the data view and enter the appropriate category for each row.

Why does SPSS sometimes report numbers that include an "E" in them, such as "4.19E-02"?

SPSS reports some numbers using scientific notation. Scientific notation is a notational system developed by scientists who often have to work with very, very large or very, very small numbers. In SPSS, the "E<number>" stands for "10 to the <number> power." For example, 4.19E-02 can be read as "4.19 times 10 to the minus 2 power." This simply means that the decimal point should be moved two places to the left. Thus, 4.19E-02 = 0.0419. Similarly, the number 8.56E04 means that the decimal point should be moved four places to the right. Thus, 8.56E04 = 85,600.

How do I label an axis in  a graph created by SPSS when the program doesn't label the axis, or when I want to use a different label?

First, double click on the graph in the SPSS output window. This puts the graph in the chart editor. Next, double click on the current axis label. If there is no label, then double click on the numbers on the axis. This will open up a dialog box with a line for the axis title. You can add or replace a title by typing the label that you want to use in the axis title box. Click "OK" to close the dialog box, then close the chart editor. The new label will appear on the graph in the output window.

URL http://edpsych.ed.sc.edu/seaman/edrm711/questions/spss.htm

This web was developed by Michael A. Seaman.
This page last updated on 04 February 2001 .

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of South Carolina.