SPSS: TEXTBOOKS: A REVIEW FOR TEACHERS

Abstract

Many teachers and researchers use the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) software for instructional and/or research purposes. Because of the comprehensive nature and features of this program, there are various textbooks available that may offer teachers and practitioners a more concise way to analyze and discuss many of the topics that are typically taught in statistics courses. These textbooks differ on many different features, such as level of the audience, complexity of statistical procedures discussed, degree of interpretation of statistics/output, amount of detail discussed on the basic mechanics, accessibility of data files, and student exercises. This paper is written to offer teachers and researchers a review of some of the most popular SPSS textbooks that are available today by utilizing evaluation criteria previously discussed in the literature. This review can provide a starting point for teachers to explore features of the various SPSS textbooks as well as to consider what book is most appropriate based on their own teaching style. Comments from teachers who use the software, limitations of the review, and a table of other ancillary textbook data conclude the paper.

First published November 2003 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives