Using SPSS and PASW/Opening a dataset

Opening an Existing SPSS Data File

This chapter will explain how to open new and already saved data sets. Once you have SPSS open (see Chapter 2), click "File" → "Open" → “Data”:

After clicking the Data icon, SPSS will pull up a screen called “Open Data.” Open Data will give you option to find your data set. This can be seen in the screen shot below:

Browse through your directories until you find your data set, then select it and click “Open.” Your data set should now be open:

Opening a New Data Window

If you'd rather enter data into a blank data file, you can create an empty SPSS data file. To do so, once you've opened the program, click "File" → "New" → "Data"

The result will be a blank or empty data file. You can enter data in the Data View (Chapter 4) and set variable characteristics in Variable View (Chapter 5).

Chapter contributed by Jennifer Gadarowski