Intermediate Guide to SPSS Programming

An Intermediate Guide to SPSS Programming: Using Syntax for Data Management introduces the major tasks of data management and presents solutions using SPSS syntax. This book fills an important gap in the education of many students and researchers, whose coursework has left them unprepared for the data management issues that confront them when they begin to do independent research. It also serves as an introduction to SPSS programming. All the basic features of SPSS syntax are illustrated, as are many intermediate and advanced topics such as using vectors and loops, reading complex data files, and using the SPSS macro language. An Intermediate Guide to SPSS Programming will be a welcome addition to advanced undergraduate and graduate statistics courses across the social sciences, education, and health. Professional researchers, data managers, and statisticians will also find this an invaluable reference for SPSS and data management.

“The book makes a distinct and important contribution to the field by focusing on an important set of skills that is often only briefly touched upon (if at all) in courses or texts. SPSS users benefit from having solid familiarity with syntax coding in addition to being able to use the pull-down menus. A careful study of this book will help readers advance these important skills.”, "Where was this manual when I was trying to learn SPSS for my dissertation after switching from MiniTab? It would have been a valuable tool to save enormous amounts of time. It is succinct and to the point."

Sarah E. Boslaugh, Ph.D., M.P.H., has over 20 years of experience in statistical analysis, grant writing, and teaching; her employers and clients have included the New York City Public Schools, Montefiore Medical Center, Kennesaw State University, Washington University School of Medicine, and Saint Louis University. She served as editor-in-chief for the Encyclopedia of Epidemiology (SAGE, 2007), and has published three additional books: An Intermediate Guide to SPSS Programming: Using Syntax for Data Management (SAGE, 2004), Secondary Data Sources for Public Health: A Practical Guide (Cambridge University Press, 2007), and Statistics in a Nutshell (O’Reilly, 2nd ed., 2012).Boslaugh received her Ph.D. in measurement and evaluation from the City University of New York Graduate Center and her M.P.H. from Saint Louis University. She is currently a technical writer and editor at Saint Louis University in Missouri. She specializes in data-based articles and explaining statistical principles to the general public. Her research interests include comparative health care delivery systems, quality of life measurement, and gender and sexuality issues in health care delivery. In her spare time, she reviews films and books for PopMatters (http://www.popmatters.com) and Playback St. Louis (http://www.playbackstl.com).