SPSS Practice: Performing a Descriptive and Diagnostic Preliminary Examination of the Data In preparation for this week’s practice, you will need to know how to use SPSS to perform a basic descriptive...

SPSS Practice: Performing a Descriptive and Diagnostic Preliminary Examination of the Data

In preparation for this week’s practice, you will need to know how to use SPSS to perform a basic descriptive statistical analysis, find any abnormal data points (outliers), and perform a normality test of data. Refer to the links in Resources to help you complete this post, and remember to follow the guidelines in the FEM.

Instructions

For this discussion, use the Emotional Well-Being (SF-36) data set you previously created (and were directed to save):

1. Perform and report the descriptive statistics for the following variables: Age, Gender, and Baseline Well-Being Score (hint: you need to know what type of data is found for each variable before you choose the descriptive statistics you will show).


2. Run the following analysis:
   
   
   • In the Menu bar, clickAnalyze.
   
   
   • Find Descriptives.
   
   
   • Under Descriptives, add:
     
     
     • Age, Gender, and Baseline Well-Being Score to variables.
     
     
     
     
   
   
   • SelectOptionsand check those of interest.
   
   
   • CheckSave standardized valuesas variables.
   
   
   • ClickOK.
   
   
   
   


3. Using the box-and-whiskers approach, create a graphic for each of the aforementioned variables (if appropriate) and identify any outliers.


4. Using the histogram tool, submit your creation in the discussion area (hint: histograms are only appropriate for certain types of variables) and state whether you think the data is normally distributed.


5. Describe one or two of the challenges you found while performing these exercises and how you resolved the issues. Where appropriate, provide the address of any website that helped you.

Refer to the helpful links in Resources as you prepare your post.

Response Guidelines

Read and respond to the posts of your peers according to the guidelines in the FEM.

Address one of more of the following in your response:

• How do the challenges and resolutions of your peers compare to yours?


• How did your graphics and conclusions drawn compare to your peers?