How to split a SPSS-file in two or more groups.

March 22nd, 2006 mark

Sometimes you want to split your data file in separate groups for analysis

Its a easy thing to do in SPSS. From the menus choose:
Data > Split File

This opens the Split File dialog box.

Select Compare groups or Organize output by groups. The examples following these steps show the differences between these two options.

Select Gender (gender) to split the file into separate groups for these variables. You can use numeric, short string, and long string variables as grouping variables. A separate analysis is performed for each subgroup defined by the grouping variables. If you select multiple grouping variables, the order in which they appear on the Groups Based On list determines the manner in which cases are grouped.

If you select Compare groups and run the Frequencies procedure, a single pivot table is created.

If you select Organize output by groups and run the Frequencies procedure, two pivot tables are created: one for females and one for males.

Entry Filed under: 3a. Analysing your data, Questions and answers