Using SPSS on the Campus Network
This document covers the basics of using SPSS on the Canisius campus network. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is the primary data analysis program used by social scientists. Canisius has a license for its use on the campus network. The current program version is 12.0. Many of the manuals now in print on how to use the program describe versions 11.0 or 10.0. That includes the manual in the Study Guide used in the Psych 201 course. Do not be concerned -- SPSS has changed little since version 8.0, especially in terms of the statistical analyses. There have been changes in the way output can be displayed, but those are not important for students.
How to find it on campus computers.
SPSS is NOT available on Mac computers. It is only a Windows program. With that in mind, here is information from ITS on how it can be found and where:
- All students access SPSS through the Application Explorer; it's the way we "meter" the number of copies in use. The link to SPSS is "associated" with their username. So they must login to the Wehle server. Additionally, they need to be at a computer that was set up for SPSS -- which includes all Windows lab computers and all Windows ITC computers. Individual office computers or student stations are not necessarily set up for SPSS. If it's needed on one of them, the office should call the Help Desk (X2299) and we can install it.
- Students will click to open the Application Explorer, which will be on the desktop. They will then click twice to open the Canisius tree icon. There they will see the icon for launching SPSS 12.
Be prepared to save your work onto either a floppy disk or your network hard drive. If you do not know how to use your network drive location, ask one of the ITS help staff in the lab. For Psych 201 students, a file should be saved using your name and the number of the homework you are working on. For example, John Smith would save the file for homework one as smith-john-1.sav.
If you have any questions about using SPSS on the campus computers or wish to make a suggestion for how use can be improved, please enter a comment in the Comments box below.
