How To Calculate Mean and Standard Deviation in SPSS For Beginners
SPSS is a statistical software that used for the analysis of data in statistics and social sciences. The software has an easy to use graphical user interface. However, most beginners find the software challenging, and especially those who have no background in statistics as a subject. With that in mind, our department of statistics homework helpers have created a simple guide to show you how to calculate mean and standard deviation in SPSS.
How To Calculate Mean and Standard Deviation of Age in SPSS
As you know, the mean is the average value of any data set while the standard deviation is a measure of spread. Before we begin, we need to define the data for this SPSS example. Our data set, Lacourse et al. (2001) Females.sav describes demographic variables such as the age, marital status and gender for a group of participants. We will use the age variable to show you how to calculate both the mean and standard deviation in SPSS. So before we proceed, make sure you have downloaded the data and follow the steps outlined below.
How to Calculate Mean and Standard Deviation in SPSS
Step 1: Click Analyze> Descriptive statistics> Descriptives... on the main menu
You will be presented with the Descriptives dialogue box as shown below:
Step 2: Transfer the dependent variable Age[AGE] by selecting and clicking on the middle arrow
Step 2: You will be presented with the descriptive options box shown below. Ensure that you check the box written mean and std.deviation.
Step 3: Finally, click on continue, then Ok, to be presented with the output shown below
Step 4: Interpret and report the results
A descriptive analysis was done to determine the mean age of the participants. There were 121 participants with a mean age of (16.12±0.959) where 0.959 is the standard deviation.
Final Thoughts
At this point, we hope that you can comfortably calculate the mean and standard deviation of any data set in SPSS. To find the mean and dispersion for another variable, repeat the procedure above from step one to step four. Once you do, you’ll realize that SPSS is such an easy tool to use. Additionally, you can refer to our quick guide on how to calculate standard deviation step by step to help you grasp this concept better. However, if you find these procedures to be difficult, you can always pay someone to do your SPSS homework for a small fee.