ActivStats & SPSS info

Math 151 , Spring 2006  Hit reload to get most current version

ActivStats--Getting Started.

SPSS is a powerful computer package that does statistical analyses of data.  It has been developed over many years and is like a huge house that was built in stages, in many different architectural styles.  So there may be several ways to do almost the same thing, but it may come out slightly different in each way.  KEEP NOTES when you figure out how to do something you might want to do again.

SPSS for your computer.


SPSS Handouts:
Math 151 SPSS v. 13 Introduction:   Links will be activated as the semester proceeds:   Page 1 , Data Editor (p.2),
Tables & Graphs:  Numerical summaries (p.3),  Graphs (p.4) 
Comparing Subgroups (p.5) , Two categorical variables (p.6),  Importing Data (p.7) , Timeplot & Index (p.8)

Optional:  Transforming old variables into new variables, and using SPSS "tables"

Handout on Scatterplots (p.1-3,) and Regression (p. 4 )  Days 13-16, approx.

Sampling using SPSS (Days 18-19)

One-sample t, and matched pairs (Days 39-40)

Two-sample t.  (Days 40-41)

ActivStats tools:
AS5-3, click on top righmost button (red dots on yellow background, "Tool1")  After the Dotplot Tool opens, right-click to get menu. In it,  Click on (choose)  Show Buttons, Centers, Spreads, Mean Graphically, Standard Deviation Graphically.   Then you can click in the yellow area to add points.  You can drag points. Check that the dark band shown goes from 1 s.d. below the mean to 1 s.d. above the mean. Experiment, especially  with the results of outliers on the S.D. & IQR (You can show only one middle, one spread graphically at a time but you can right click and change which one at any time.) Day6 (probably)

AS6 Normal Density tool: Use AS30-2 "Normal distribution based Confidence Intervals" tool for best setup.CAUTION: Don't hit the Enter key! It closes the tool-box!   To use it from Tool1 from the menu bar in Ch. 6:  Right click for menu. Choose Show Buttons.  Choose Show Flag Values, Mean, StandardDeviation; Real Values.  Now you can type in mean and s.d. and  the mean + 1,2,3 s.d.'s will show on the axis.  CAUTION: Don't hit the Enter key! It closes the tool-box!  To register a typed number, click in a different box.   Days7,8, 9(probably)

ActivStats 7-3, correlation:  2nd activity:  Slider to see shapes ~~ r's.  3rd activity: non-linear data and r's. 4th: center and scale change.
Activstats has some  scatterplot tools, (ch. 8)  like the Correlation/Regression one on the Moore websites above.  It Doesn't allow the Xbar, Ybar lines, so for correlation I prefer the Moore tool.

ActivStats Least Squares tool:AS8-3, rightmost button, with line and red dots. "Show" button.  Checkmark all possibilities. Uncheck "ShowLS Line". Choose number of points, Do "Regenerate". Move green line to minimize Sum of Squares (red bar), and observe residuals as you do.  Confirm your result by checking "ShowLSLine".
"Regenerate" created "good clouds" of data.  To use your own data, do "Reset"; click in the picture to make dots (but not too close to the green line or it will think you're dragging that.).  Day 17, 18?(probably)

Other Handouts:  (not all handouts are web-able.  Look in the white folder outside my door for paper.) 
   See Weblinks page for links.


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