SPSS TEXTBOOKS: A REVIEW FOR
TEACHERS
JAMIE D. MILLS
University of Alabama
jmills@bamaed.ua.edu
SUMMARY
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.
Keywords: SPSS textbooks;
evaluation criteria; teaching; statistics
__________________________
Statistics Education Research
Journal, 2(2), 59-70, http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/serj
Ó International Association for Statistical Education (IASE/ISI), November, 2003
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JAMIE D. MILLS
University of Alabama
Department of Educational Studies
P. O. Box 870231
Tuscaloosa,
Alabama 35487-0231
USA