<< SPSS Syntax >>

(PSY206) Data Management and Analysis

Author

Md Rasel Biswas

Basic Rules of SPSS Syntax

SPSS syntax is structured and rule-based. Understanding these fundamentals makes data handling faster, cleaner, and more reliable.

1. Every command must end with a period (.)

SPSS does not run a command until it sees a period.

FREQUENCIES VARIABLES = age.
DESCRIPTIVES VARIABLES = score.

2. SPSS is NOT case-sensitive (for commands & variable names)

These all mean the same thing:

age   AGE   Age
descriptives   DESCRIPTIVES   Descriptives

However, string values ARE case-sensitive:

SELECT IF gender = "male".

3. Comments begin with /* and must end with a */

/* This is a comment explaining the next command */

4. Spaces and line breaks do NOT matter

SPSS ignores extra whitespace.

DESCRIPTIVES VARIABLES = age income.

is identical to:

DESCRIPTIVES
    VARIABLES = age income
    .

5. / begins a subcommand

The slash starts the next section of the command.

FREQUENCIES VARIABLES = q1 q2 q3
  /STATISTICS = MEAN MEDIAN STDDEV
  /HISTOGRAM.

In DATA LIST LIST /, the / means: “Now start defining variables.”

6. Basic transformation commands

COMPUTE total = q1 + q2 + q3.
IF (gender = 2) female = 1.
RECODE adopted (0=0) (1,2,3=1) INTO adopt_bin.
COUNT agree1 = q1 TO q10 (1).

These modify or create variables.

7. Sorting, filtering, and splitting

SORT CASES BY age (A).
COMPUTE filter_$ = (adopted > 0).
FILTER BY filter_$.
SPLIT FILE BY gender.

Turn off when done:

FILTER OFF.
SPLIT FILE OFF.

8. Reading data

Manual entry:

DATA LIST LIST /
  id (F2.0)
  score (F2.0).

BEGIN DATA
1 20
2 18
END DATA.

Excel import:

GET DATA
  /TYPE=XLSX
  /FILE="mydata.xlsx"
  /READNAMES=ON.

9. The role of EXECUTE.

EXECUTE. is a special command that forces SPSS to apply all pending data transformations immediately.

Many transformation commands—such as COMPUTE, IF, RECODE, COUNT, VALUE LABELS, FORMATS—do not run instantly. They wait until:

  • SPSS reaches an analysis command, or
  • You manually force the update using EXECUTE.

Example:

COMPUTE score2 = score * 2.
EXECUTE.

Without EXECUTE., the new variable may not appear in the Data Editor until the next analysis (e.g., FREQUENCIES).

When EXECUTE. is useful:

  • When you only run transformations and no analysis follows
  • When you want to immediately see changes in Data View
  • When debugging or teaching step-by-step
  • When building variables interactively

When you do NOT need EXECUTE.:

  • When a procedure (FREQUENCIES, DESCRIPTIVES, T-TEST, REGRESSION, etc.) follows the transformation → These automatically trigger execution.

When to avoid overusing it:

  • Repeated EXECUTE. commands in large datasets slow down processing → Combine several transformations and run one EXECUTE. at the end.

10. Commands run from top to bottom

Order matters. Create variables before using them:

COMPUTE total = q1 + q2 + q3.
DESCRIPTIVES VARIABLES = total.

11. Good habits for clean SPSS syntax

  • Keep each command on its own line
  • Indent subcommands (lines starting with /)
  • Use meaningful variable names
  • Use RECODE INTO to avoid overwriting raw data
  • Add comments to explain logic
  • Group transformations together and end with one EXECUTE.