User Guide

76
Chapter 5
Many of the features of the Data view are similar to those found in spreadsheet
applications. There are, however, several important distinctions:
 Rows are cases. Each row represents a case or an observation. For example, each
individual respondent to a questionnaire is a case.
 Columns are variables. Each column represents a variable or characteristic being
measured. F
or example, each item on a questionnaire is a variable.
 Cells cont
ain values. Each cell contains a single value of a variable for a case. The
cell is the intersection of the case and the variable. Cells contain only data values.
Unlike spreadsheet programs, cells in the Data Editor cannot contain formulas.
 The data file is rectangular. The dimensions of the data file are determined by
the number o
f cases and variables. You can enter data in any cell. If you enter
data in a cell outside the boundaries of the defined data file, the data rectangle
is extended to include any rows and/or columns between that cell and the file
boundarie
s. There are no “empty” cells within the boundaries of the data file. For
numeric variables, blank cells are converted to the system-missing value. For
string variables, a blank is considered a valid value.
Variable
View
Figure 5-2
Variable view