

To specify the conditions under which your computation should be applied, however, you will need to click Include if case satisfies condition.

You will use one or more variables to define the conditions under which your computation should be applied to the data.Ģ The default specification is to Include all cases. If you click on a specific function, a description of that function will appear in the text field to the left.Ĭlick If (indicated by letter E in the above image) to open the Compute Variable: If Cases window.ġThe left column displays all of the variables in your dataset. To find a specific function, simply click one of the function groups in the Function Group list. You will now see a list of functions that belong to that function group in the Functions and Special Variables area.


The function group contains many useful, common functions that may be used for calculating values for new variables (e.g., mean, logarithm). There are many kinds of calculations you can specify by selecting a variable (or multiple variables) from the left column, moving them to the center text field, and using the blue buttons to specify values (e.g., “1”) and operations (e.g., +, *, /).Į If: The If option allows you to specify the conditions under which your computation will be applied.į Function group: You can also use the built-in functions in the Function group list on the right-hand side of the window. Do not put a period at the end of the expression you enter into the Numeric Expression box.ĭ The center of the window includes a collection of arithmetic operators, Boolean operators, and numeric characters, which you can use to specify how your new variable will be calculated.When specifying the formula for a new variable, you have to option to include or not include spaces after the commas that go between arguments in a function.SPSS is not case-sensitive with respect to variable names.When writing an expression in the Compute Variables dialog window: This expression must include one or more variables from your dataset, and can use arithmetic or functions.
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You can use this menu to add variables into a computation: either double-click on a variable to add it to the Numeric Expression field, or select the variable(s) that will be used in your computation and click the arrow to move them to the Numeric Expression text field (C).Ĭ Numeric Expression: Specify how to compute the new variable by writing a numeric expression. The default type for new variables is numeric.ī The left column lists all of the variables in your dataset. Once a variable is entered here, you can click on “Type & Label” to assign a variable type and give it a label. Simply type a name for the new variable in the text field. The Compute Variable window will open where you will specify how to calculate your new variable.Ī Target Variable: The name of the new variable that will be created during the computation. To compute a new variable, click Transform > Compute Variable. In this tutorial, we'll discuss how to compute variables in SPSS using numeric expressions, built-in functions, and conditional logic. Apply a computation conditionally, so that a new variable is only computed for cases where certain conditions are met.Compute a subscale score from items on a survey.Use a subject's height and weight to compute their BMI.Convert the units of a variable from feet to meters.Sometimes you may need to compute a new variable based on existing information (from other variables) in your data.
