Web Site and SPSS/win Access from Network PC Terminals

To access my web site and the SPSS/win program on the network from a PC terminal, follow these instructions.  Also, note the steps for doing and reporting computer exercises.

Access to Dr. Usip’s Home Page
Action: Double-click on the Netscape Communicator icon on the Windows Desktop
Result: Access to the Internet; YSU Home page appears.

Action: At the URL (i.e. location) type the address http://www.cc.ysu.edu/~eeusip/
Result: Dr. Ebenge Usip’s Home Page appears. Start browsing the site beginning with
             the Course Information

Access to SPSS/win Program
Action: Open the File menu of the browser and select Exit to end the Internet session.
Result: You are back to the Windows Desktop

Action: Double-click on the SPSS 8.0 program icon.
Result: The SPSS/win program loads. A spreadsheet-like window appears; this is actually the                SPSS Data Editor.  Before the program can accept instructions for statistical
              computation, you must first supply the data set in the SPSS/win format (recall: Data
              are the primary inputs of any statistical analysis). Therefore you must begin your work
              by either creating a data set or loading one into the program (via the A:/ drive) from an
              existing file on your diskette.

How to Create a Data set file in SPSS/win Format
Consider the following employment history/status data set:

To create a file for this data set, each variable must be properly defined. This means that both the data TYPE and the VALUE LABEL (for qualitative data only) must be declared. Let us begin by defining the variable GENDER, which is qualitative.

Action: Double click on "var" in the first column of the spreadsheet screen.
Result: "Define Variable" window opens. For now pay attention to the items: "Variable name",
             "Type..." and "Labels...".

Actions:
1. Type gender in the "Variable Name" box
2. Click on "Type..." and select String from the list of items. This is important because gender is
     a qualitative variable with non-numeric values (F and M). Click "Continue" to return to
     "Define variable" window.
3. Click on "Labels..." A window that opens.
4 Type Gender of Employees in the "Variable Label" box.
5. Type F in the "Value" box
6. Type Female in the "Value Label" box.
7. Click on "Add". Notice F = "Female" appears. Both the "Value" and the "Values Label" are
    now empty.
8. Type M in the "value" box.
9. Type Male in the "Value Label" box
10. Click on "Add". Again, M = "Male" appears.
11. Click on "Continue" and then "Okay"

Result: Your are returned to the data entry screen with the variable gender defined. If may
             double click on it to review all the entries you made in steps 1 thru 10.

Follow the above procedure to define the variables: Salary, Education, and Experience. Note that Salary and Experience (in years) are quantitative variables. So you must select "Numeric" under "Type..." If you don’t want two trailing zeros (i.e., no decimal point) after each value enter 0 (i.e., zero) in the "Decimal Places" box of the "Type..." window. Note that Labels are not necessary for a quantitative variable.

Steps For Doing Computer Exercises
Step 1: Put your diskette containing the data file (employee.sav) in drive A:/ of the computer.
Step 2: Load SPSS/win program from the network (or from your program manager - or START
             menu if Win95 - if you own the student version of the program).
Step 3:Open the FILE menu and select the item OPEN, then click on DATA and select the
           A:/ drive. Select the SPSS/win data file that you want to use during the session.
Step 4: Use the proper Command Sequence to instruct SPSS/win to do the graphing and/or
            computations for you.
Step 5: Print a hard copy of the output containing the results.
Step 6: Use the results to answer the questions asked in the problem(s).

Note: You must submit the hard-copy of your results along with your written answers.

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