A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows: Updated for Versions 14, 15, and 16 - Softcover

Colman, Andrew M.; Pulford, Briony D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405184027 ISBN 13: 9781405184021

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008

Synopsis

This quick, simple, and user-friendly introduction to SPSS for Windows has now been updated so that it can be used with Versions 14 to 16 of the software. For this edition, a section has been added on partial correlation, together with new material on sorting, classifying, and coding data, inserting variables and cases, and paneling charts and graphs, and the chapter on charts and graphs has been completely rewritten in line with changes to the SPSS Chart Builder. The supporting website allows data sets used in the book to be downloaded from the Internet and provides additional examples from various social science disciplines.

The fourth edition retains all of the features that have made the text so attractive to students and teachers:

• The material is concise and focused, enabling most users to learn the basics comfortably within 10 hours.
• All the most widely used statistical techniques and graphic facilities in SPSS for Windows are clearly described.
• Every statistical procedure is explained with the help of a step-by-step analysis of a numerical example taken from real data in published research.
• The authors have chosen small data sets so that readers do not waste unnecessary time inputting data.
• Screenshots on the page make it easy for students to cross between the text and the screen.

Online support material to accompany the text is available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/crashcourse/

 

About this title

About the Author:

Andrew M. Colman is Professor of Psychology at the University of Leicester and an Academician of the Social Sciences. His previous publications include numerous journal articles and several books, including the award-winning Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (2001, 2006, 2009).

Briony D. Pulford, Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Leicester, is an experienced researcher and data analyst. She has published extensively in academic journals, and has taught undergraduates how to use SPSS over many years.

Review:

Reviews of the previous editions

"Do you think SPSS manuals are generally far more cumbersome than they need to be? Do your students find learning SPSS for Windows from a manual a time-consuming ordeal? A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows enables students to learn the package quickly and painlessly, provided they have some background knowledge of statistics. Why use A Crash Course in SPSS for Windows? This clear, explicit and user-friendly text enables most users to learn the basics comfortably within ten hours and makes it enjoyable." (Gnist Akademika, 26 November 2001)

"I have taken several classes that have used SPSS. When I started taking these classes I had little to no knowledge about statistics. It was extremely frustrating to understand the texts that were put out by SPSS. After reviewing this book, I have a clear understanding of how to use SPSS. It made the difficult task of understanding the output simple. SPSS is intuitive, in the sense that it is simple to pick a test and run it. However, understanding which particular piece of data is of interest to you is not intuitive. This book helps clear up the jungle of data that you have to trek through to come up with your conclusion." (Amazon.com reader)

"Reading the book is made considerably easier due to its neat layout and a contents page which lets the reader turn to the appropriate section with ease.The chapters all have a cover page explaining what the chapter will include and when reading through the chapters the readers eye is immediately drawn to the key points which are highlighted using a darker font. Bullet points allow the reader to follow the steps to figuring out the procedure with considerable ease and they are written in a way that is coherent and makes the process less complex.

With its spacious layout making it easy to read and the ring binder finish allowing pages to be accessed more effectively this book is successful in demonstrating how to use SPSS to interpret, analyse and draw up results using a variety of different tests." Marianne Bigg, BPS Student Rep.

“This textbook provides an inexpensive and quick way to become familiar with SPSS. True to its title, the book presents an abbreviated introduction to SPSS without being brusque. The authors expect novices to be able to complete the book in under 10 hours. For those familiar with the Windows operating system and spreadsheet programs (e.g., Excel), the material can completed in a few hours less. . . . Overall, the book delivers a quick and easy to follow introduction to SPSS suitable for novices.” (J. Wade Davis in The American Statistician, February 2007, Vol. 61, No. 1, p. 99)

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1405184027
• ISBN 13: 9781405184021
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 232