Before you can analyze data, you need some data to analyze.

To open a data file:

From the menus, choose:

File
Open
Data

Alternatively, you can use the Open File button on the toolbar.

This opens the Open File dialog box.

By default, SPSS-format data files (.sav extension) are displayed. You can display other file formats using the Files of Type drop-down list.

Select a data file and click Open.

If you want to open the data file used in this example, demo.sav is located in tutorial\sample files in the directory in which SPSS is installed (usually program files\spss).

The data file is displayed in the Data Editor. If you put the mouse cursor on a variable name (the column headings), a more descriptive variable label is displayed if one has been defined for that variable. By default the actual data values are displayed. To display labels:

From the menus, choose:

View
Value Labels

Alternatively, you can use the Label tool on the toolbar. Descriptive value labels are now displayed. This makes it easier to interpret the responses.