An introductory guide to SPSS for Windows - Eric L. Einspruch

Do you need to conduct data analysis with SPSS but are unfamiliar with the software? This book will help you become a proficient SPSS (Version 7.5 for Windows 95) user by teaching you the fundamentals.

The book covers the following critical basic skills: how to create data sets by defining and coding data, using a codebook and entering data; how to run SPSS and work with different SPSS files; how to manipulate data by recoding values, computing values, and selecting subsets of cases to include in an analysis; how to manage data files by reading data that have been entered using other software, appending files and merging files; how to analyze data using SPSS pull-down menus; and how to analyze data using programs written in SPSS syntax.

Eric L. Einspruch is a Senior Research Associate and Project Director at RMC Research Corporation in Portland, Oregon. He received his B.A. with an emphasis in human ecology from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and his M.S.Ed. in counseling psychology and his Ph.D. in educational research and evaluation from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Much of his experience with large-scale data analysis was acquired while working in the Office of Institutional Research at Miami-Dade Community College. He has taught courses in statistical methods and in computer applications in educational research. He is currently involved in the evaluation of school-based and community-based social service programs. His publications have appeared in the Florida Journal of Educational Research, International Journal of Early Childhood, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Journal of Drug Education, Journal of Primary Prevention, Psychotherapy in Private Practice, and Reaching Today's Youth. He is active in the Oregon Program Evaluators Network, a local affiliate of the American Evaluation Association, serving as charter Secretary in 1999 and 2000 and as President in 2003.

"I want to commend the author for including a chapter on using the SPSS manuals, I would not have thought of this addition, and the information helps the reader go on to learn the more complex components of SPSS."

"The book is a nice blend of written instructions and examples of using the SPSS programs. This book does not overwhelm the student or instructor and gives the most inexperienced user confidence about using SPSS and conducting data analysis. I absolutely love this type of book."

"[This book] . . . is an excellent additional tool to SPSS manual and tutorial on line. The written samples and instructions clearly help the students as well as the faculty members to enter and analyze the data."