Quick How to Guide to SPSS Syntax

Cheat Sheet for SPPS Syntax

Customizing SPSS Environment

• Changing page length to indefinite: SET LENGTH NONE.

Programming Errors

• Setting error listing on, maximum number of error messages displayed, turns on the display of warning messages for undefined data: SET ERRORS ON / MXWARNS =100 / UNDEFINED = WARN.

Documenting a Data File

• Displaying Document: DISPLAY DOCUMENTS.
• Dropping Document: DROP DOCUMENTS.
• Adding Document Data: DOCUMENT This file……….completed on August 20, 2002.

Reading Raw Data in SPSS

• Pathname Mac: Macintosh HD:Users:Desktop:Sarah:TimeSeries:data1.sav.
• Pathname Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\Users 01\Desktop\Time Series\data1.sav.

Reading SPSS System and Portable Files

• Getting, keeping, dropping, renaming:
o GET FILE = base1 / DROP = var1 var2 var3.
o GET FILE = base1 / KEEP var4 var5 var7.
o GET FILE = base1 / RENAME age = age1 grade = grade1.
o GET FILE = data1 / KEEP = v4 v3 v2 v1.
? This command reorders the sequence of variables in the file
? Utlize the / MAP command to produce a table of variables in the active file and the corresponding variables in the system file.