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Inferential Statistics Using SPSS

To get started with inferential statistics, go to the Analyze menu. A great variety of options are available, from Analysis of Variance to factor analysis, logistic regression and more. Two examples are presented here.

Independent Sample T-Test: Do Women Ever Get to Spend Any Time Alone?

In the first example, we will explore the question, "Is it true that women have less time to themselves than men do?" To test this question, we used the 13,000+ records from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS).

  1. In SPSS, from the Analyze menu, highlight Compare Means.
  2. Click Independent-Samples T Test.

    3. T-Test1

  3. In the Independent-Samples T Test window, select the desired independent variable in the list on the left and then click the arrow next to the Test Variable(s) box.
  4. From the variables list, select the desired group variable and click the arrow next to the Grouping Variable box.

    T-test2

  5. Click the Define Groups button and a new window will pop up.

    6. T-test3

    Here you must code your data. The ATUS data are coded 1= Male and 2 = Female, so we enter 1 and 2 for the groups, and click the Continue button.

  6. Click OK and the t-test will appear. For this example, the t-test tells us that women have more time to themselves, according to the output shown here.

To further test our question, we can use another form of inferential analysis: linear regression.

Last updated:
February 22, 2010

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