SPSS and surveys Chris Carroll Research Associate ScHARR, University of Sheffield Module Tutor: Analysis of Health Information, MSc in Health Informatics, Dept. of Information Studies, University of Sheffield

SPSS This presentation offers a brief introduction to the SPSS for Windows, including: –Introduction and what is good about SPSS –Viewing and manipulating data –Generating graphs and data tables –Some references

Introduction SPSS is a software package used for: –conducting statistical analyses –manipulating data –generating tables and graphs that summarize data

Introduction SPSS analyses quantitative, that is, numeric data Survey data must be numeric or converted to numeric values for analysis in SPSS Numbers can be assigned to qualitative survey responses, for example, Agree=1, Unsure=2, Disagree=3

What is good about SPSS? Easy-to-use pull-down menus, like Microsoft XP/Office Users do not need to know complex statistical equations to use SPSS SPSS is like a calculator: users enter the numbers and select the tasks, and the software does the rest

What is good about SPSS? Results are clearly presented Tables and graphs can be copied directly from SPSS into Word files

Viewing survey data When SPSS opens a data file it displays it in the Data Editor The Data Editor allows you to view, add, delete, manipulate and analyse data using the commands available through drop- down menus and sub-menus

Viewing data: Variable View

Viewing data: Data View

Graphs and tables It is possible to produce basic descriptive statistics for your survey data in the form of both graphs and frequency tables The results appear in the Output View of SPSS

Graphs and tables Example SPSS bar chart Long loan Short loan Reference Newspapers / magazines Library collection Library collection

Graphs and tables Example SPSS pie chart Long loan Short loan Refernce Newspapers / magazines d Missing Library collection

Graphs and tables Example SPSS frequency tables Library Collection Long loan Short loan Reference Newspapers / magazines Total Valid SystemMissing Total FrequencyPercentValid Percent Cumulative Percent

Librarianship, surveys and SPSS Many information / librarianship studies use SPSS to analyse survey data. Some recent examples: –Auster E. & McDiarmid M. (2005). Using volunteers in Ontario hospital libraries: views of library managers. Journal of the Medical Library Association. 93 (2), –Rice DM. & Starner ME. (2004). Surveying the stacks collecting data and analyzing results with SPSS. Library Resources and Technical Services. 48 (4), –Cardina C. & Wicks D. (2004). The changing roles of academic reference librarians over a ten-year period. Reference & User Services Quarterly. 44 (2),

References Swinscow TDV. (1997). Statistics at Square One. 9 th edition. BMJ. dex.shtml (Accessed 10 May 2006) dex.shtml Driscoll P. et al (2000). An introduction to everyday statistics—1. Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine, 17 (3), a (Accessed 10 May 2006) 05-a