About the book
SPSS 16 Made Simple is the latest edition of one of the most widely read textbooks in its field.
As usual, every effort has been made to maintain the friendly, practical and informal style of earlier editions, while at the same time keeping the reader abreast of the latest improvements in SPSS.
Each statistical technique is presented in a realistic research context and is fully illustrated with screen shots of SPSS dialog boxes and output. The book also provides guidance on the choice of statistical techniques and advice on how to report the results of statistical analysis.
The first chapter sets the scene with a survey of typical research situations, key terms and advice on the choice of statistical techniques. It also provides clear signposts to where each technique can be found in the body of the book. The next chapters introduce the reader to the use of SPSS 16, showing how to enter and describe a data set both statistically and graphically, using the powerful capabilities of the Chart Builder. Each of the remaining chapters concentrates on one particular kind of research situation and the statistical techniques that are appropriate.
Where necessary, the coverage has been extended to include topics in which our readers have expressed particular interest: for example, in this edition there is now detailed consideration of the analysis of multiple responses; there is also more advice about the use of SPSS control language, or syntax. While being updated and expanded to cover new features, the book will continue to be useful to readers with earlier versions of SPSS.
In summary, SPSS 16 Made Simple:
- Gets you started with SPSS 16.
- Shows you how to run an exploratory data analysis (EDA) using SPSS's extensive graphics and data-handling menus.
- Reviews the elements of statistical inference.
- Helps you to choose appropriate statistical techniques.
- Warns you of the pitfalls arising from the misuse of statistics.
- Shows you how to report the results of a statistical analysis.
- Shows you how to use syntax to implement some useful procedures and operations.
- Has a comprehensive index, which allows you to find a topic by several different routes.
- Has a comprehensive glossary.
"As if doing a PhD wasn't hard enough work already, being an SPSS virgin, thrown in at the deep end, just topped things off. Statistics was not only daunting but hard going! I was advised to get my hands on an SPSS book. I came across this book and I can honestly say it's a beauty. It's a great book that is easy on the eye and, even better, simple to understand! It shall forever remain on my desk for quick reference!" — amazon.co.uk customer review of the previous edition