Search for multiple keywords within a string in spss. When writing down the observed values of a categorical variable, you can choose to write the values as words or as numeric codes. Because the variable score is a string variable, we cannot calculate a mean, etc. It didnt accepted an existent variable now you have the value 9999ffff in the text field, instead of a blank value, and can be used as wished including a manual recode. Duplicate variable names are also not permitted in spss our system will identify any duplicates in the general tab of your export. For example, recode to some unused string value, like 99999 and set the value 99999 as usermissing afterwards ibm spss statistics 19 command syntax reference, page 55. How can i easily convert a string variable to a categorical. The width of a variable is the number of characters spss will allow to be entered for the variable. You can, however, extract one or more characters a substring from them, glue them together concatenate and a couple of other functions. Either method of recording categorical variables is valid, but it is often easier to work with numeric codes in spss than it is to work with strings. Jun 08, 2014 merging data files together with a key variable that is a string is not fun in spss.
Use any mixture of upper and lowercase characters when naming your variable. To do this, you need to create a new variable using the compute command. Spss tells you that it had trouble with column 5, as it could not read correctly a data value. Variable types spss tutorials libguides at kent state.
To make the presentation easier to understand all string variables below start with the letter s and numerical variables with n. Spss attempts to determine what kind of data numeric or string is in a column by looking what it finds there and then, in this case, guessed that it should. Merging data files together with a key variable that is a string is not fun in spss. To change the name, place the cursor in this field and type the name. It is because systemmissing values are defined only for numeric variables. Variable labels can contain spaces and reserved characters that are not allowed in variable names. Q how can i combine a string and a numeric variables. Learn the format and type of spss variables and get in control of your data. Spss creates a new variable with the recoded values. String variables compute command ibm knowledge center. Value labels you can assign descriptive value labels for each value of a variable. Into is required to recode a string variable into a numeric variable or a. Problemabstract i want to run a oneway anova model, but when i click on analyzecompare meansoneway anova, i dont see my factor variable in the list of available variables.
In spss, there are no other variable types other than numeric and string. This option will autorecode blank strings into a usermissing value higher than the. Spss string variables tutorial quickly master the basics and run some simple syntax. String variable definition of string variable by the free. Openended response items in a survey would also be an example of a string. How to convert numeric to string in spss listendata. How to convert string into numeric form in spss without. I have a string variable that contains a lot of text. In spss, how do i convert between numeric variables and. The string variable needs to be the same width in each data file and needs to be sorted the same ascending. The dataset has 435 observations in all, and spss reports that there are zero missing values. Width the width of a variable is the number of characters spss will allow to be entered for the variable.
For items 414, respondents are allowed to check the not applicable box. A posted to spssxl list by raynald levesque on 20020903. Recoding string variables automatic recode spss tutorials. Missingvalue specifications are saved in ibm spss statistics data files. String declares new string variables that can be used as target variables in data transformations basic specification. Alternatively, with only 2 values to recode, you could use the manual recode transformrecode into different variables to recode the string variable. Combine a string variable and a numeric variable spss.
Notice, if it matters to you that this does not convert a numeric variable to a string variable. Spss tutorials statistical analysis prepare excel data. If the content of the two strings is not an exact match, the computer will. Open a ticket and download fixes at the ibm support portal find a technical. However, when i click on analyze multiple response define variable sets i get a popup window with a warning. You could do that, but if all of your missing variable strings are coded as 66, i would just make a new set of variables, recode the 66 to a blank string, and then concatenate the variables all. A relatively new choice, so you may not see it mentioned in older books about. Recoding multiple string variables in spss automatic recoding. Systemmissing values are automatically assigned by the program when no legal. If you create a frequency table of this variable analyze descriptive statistics frequencies, you will notice something strange.
When you xtset a time variable that is not %t, the display format does not change unless you specify the unitoption generic or use the format option. Spss allows a very large number for the size of the string so large that you could fit a paragraph, which is exactly what you would do if you were doing text mining. Type variables on the spss variable view tab dummies. This process is particularly useful if your data file uses numeric codes to represent nonnumeric categories for example, codes of 1 and 2 for male and female. The instructions and examples will help guide you through establishing different types of variables for your particular research or analysis needs. Page 7071 of paswspss 18 user manual variable names. In code page mode, if strexpr is a string variable, use rtrim if you only want the actual string value without the rightpadding to. Ascertaining spss variable formats spss differentiates write and print formats. The syntax we use can be copypasted or downloaded here. The basic specification is the name of the new variables and, in parentheses, the variable format. Cant assign missing values to string variable in spss. If you understand spss variable formats and types, it will help you in getting things done accurately and quickly. I want to search for a couple of specific keywords within the text, and then if it finds any of them, it flags the case by returning a 1. Since spss appears to lack a native string replacement function, this requires a fair amount of brute force, especially if there are more than one occurences of the target character in.
From transform menu recode into same variable old and new variables system missing in value space add the value you want to replace the missing data with continue ok. For new value, if the output is a string variable as it is here, check, output variables are strings, and enter the new value to match the old range low. I want to work on this data based on multiple cases selection or subgroups, e. All variables in the working file or in variable sets in use are inappropriate for this. Only one recoded value per set is allowed to the right of the equals sign. Understand that timevar is not required to be a %t variable. A numercic data value was expected, but something else, not recognized was found in column 5. How can i change a string variable into a numeric variable. Original values that are not specified remain unchanged unless the keyword. String variables can be modified but not created on compute. All variables in the working file or in variable sets in use are inappropriate for this dialog. Remember that in a string variable, a missing value is a null, or empty, string. Stringnumeric type variable, format returns the value of the numeric expression as a string.
Spss has many specific string functions not all of them appear below in the short examples. One way is to use the number function with the compute command. String variable definition of string variable by the. Help i cant run independentsample t test using spss. The string variable needs to be the same width in each data file. Theres no such thing as a system missing value in a string variable. Changing width of string variables in spss youtube. In spss, recoding categorical string variables to numeric codes and converting blank. The variable displays as blanks and is not treated as missing. The target variable must be named first, and the equals sign is required. Numeric type numeric variables contain values that are in number form, like in scientific notation or standard format.
For example, a command that calculates the percentage of similarity between each pair of observations in two string variables. So for instance if i wanted to replace all the numbers with nothing in a string field i could use this code below where origfield is the original field with the numbers contained, and cleanfield is the subsequent cleaned variable. To change the defined width of a string variable use the alter type command. String numeric type variable, format returns the value of the numeric expression as a string. The book provides a brief overview of spss syntax, then covers increasing the datafile. The only variables identified as having labels are numeric and the one string variable that we know for certain has a label prepby is not identified as. Try ibm spss statistics subscription make it easier to perform powerful statistical analysis. Is there a way to automatically extract the numbers from each cell and save them in a new numerical scale variable. String variables recode command ibm knowledge center. Jul 09, 20 we can use a simple loop and the pib variable format in spss to clean out unwanted ascii codes in string characters. For example in two different variables i have words prog and program. Number of people has entries like 5 people instead of simply 5. This field describes the name of the variable being defined.
For example the sting variable is math, the number is 101 and i need math101. However, a new string variable can be created and assigned a width with the string. In spss, to convert a numeric variable to a string variable, use the string function. Overview missing values command ibm knowledge center. You cant use numeric functions such as addition or subtraction on string variables. For the high range, the parameters are listed in the window above. String formats are used to read and write string variables. Note that although the replicate weights appear on the download page as a single variable, they are actually 160 9digit variables, and substantially expand any download. Only one target variable is allowed per compute command if the target variable is numeric, the expression must yield a numeric value. I have a data file which contains string variables only. Is there a way to create a new variable that compares these two and tells me numerically how similar these two are. If keyword to is used to create multiple string variables, the specified format applies to each variable that is named and implied by to. In the sample data file, the variable state is a string variable representing whether the student is an instate student or an outofstate student.
Change a string variable to a numeric variable duration. It didnt accepted an existent variable now you have the value 9999ffff in the text field, instead of a blank value, and can be used as wished including a. Sep 19, 20 ive searched high and low and read all of the syntax reference documents with no success, i know you can replace a string within a variable via replace page 337 of the syntax ref that i have but i cant find any reference to a way of using part of a string variable as an argument in a do if statement. Ibm i cannot use string variables for creating a multiple. Conducting a multiple regression after dummy coding variables in spss. Spss variable names cannot include special characters. Spss string variables quick introduction spss tutorials. My factor variable is not available for use in the spss. Can i extract numbers from string variables and saving them as numerical variable. This allows you to specify how you would like missing values in a string variable to b handled when autorecoded. This is because, when referring to the content of a string during. Variables that are declared on string are added to the active dataset in the order in which they are specified. Change a string variable to a numeric variable youtube.
Code is the variable name and a12 indicates string variable with width 12 3. Like so, working with string variables in spss is super easy. Any usermissing values within the range are included. Missing values for string variables must be enclosed in single or double quotes. Spssx discussion syntax for do if var contains string x. In the example above, a8 indicates a string variable eight. The variable name must begin with a letter of the alphabet and cannot exceed 8 characters. Alternatively, with only 2 values to recode, you could use the manual recode transformrecode into different variables to recode the string variable treatment into the scale treatnum, for example. Which spss commands convert string to numeric variables. Unfortunately this will not work in graphics interface, only syntax, at least in my version of spss you can try in yours, just do the normal recode. Ive searched high and low and read all of the syntax reference documents with no success, i know you can replace a string within a variable via replace page 337 of the syntax ref that i have but i cant find any reference to a way of using part of a string variable as an argument in a do if statement. Answers for spss 23 propensity score matching psmatching3 does want a scale binary treatment group variable. Cant assign missing values to string variable in spss using. I need help with changing a variable from numeric to string.
Spss how to convert string variables into numeric ones. For string variables, blank or null values are not treated as systemmissing. This field describes the type of variable that is being defined. I have a dataset that has some variables that should be scales saved as string variables. And you use a numeric format in the string function, to select what string.
There are several ways that you can change a string variable into a numeric variable. The interesting thing is the prepby variable is identified as a string but is not identified as having any sort of value label attached the space under that column header is blank. In code page mode, if strexpr is a string variable, use rtrim if you only want the actual string value without the rightpadding to the defined variable width. This process allows spss to convert invisibly a variable format while leaving it in the same place in the data file. Creating a new spss statistics data file consists of two. The begin data and end data commands enclose the raw data. This order is not changed by the order in which the variables are used in the transformation language. We can use a simple loop and the pib variable format in spss to clean out unwanted ascii codes in string characters. Essentially im trying to achieve what this pseudo code says. If the new values are shorter than the defined width of the target variable, the values are rightpadded with blanks. The format family is indicated by one or more letters. The string variables represent answers to multiple response questions and are either dichotomous or categorical answers coded as strings.