Entering Data in SPSS Open SPSS. Select the radio button beside ‘type in data’. Click OK. At the bottom of the SPSS spreadsheet, select variable view. Each variable will be entered in a different row. Begin by assigning your variable a name (must be less than 8 characters, all lower case). Tab to the next column and you will see that most columns automatically fill themselves. Leave Type, Width, and Decimals as they are. In the label column, give your variable a full name.

Entering Data in SPSS If your variable is categorical or has been grouped according to levels, enter the values for each level in the values column. Click the gray box beside ‘none’ and the value labels dialog box will open. Give the first level of your variable a value of 1. Hit the tab key and identify the value for this level (e.g. male). Click add. Continue doing this until all levels of your variable have been named. Then click OK. If the variable of interest is not a variable that is broken down into groups (e.g. age, GPA, IQ, etc.), ignore this column.

Entering Data in SPSS Ignore the columns labeled Missing, Columns, and Align. Click in the last column labeled measure, and select the appropriate scale of measurement for the variable. Repeat these steps for each variable. When you have identified all of the variables, you are ready to return to the data view window and enter your data. In the data view window, select view in the toolbar and make sure that value labels has a check beside it.