User Guide

Chapter

Getting Help

Help is provided in many different forms:

Help menu. The Help menu in most SPSS windows provides access to the main Help

system, plus tutorials and technical reference material.

 Topics. Provides access to the Contents, Index, and Search tabs, which you

can use to find specific Help topics.

 Tutorial. Illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to use many of the basic

features in SPSS. You don’t have to view the whole tutorial from start to finish.

You can choose the topics you want to view, skip around and view topics in any

order, and use the index or table of contents to find specific topics.

 Case Studies. Hands-on examples of how to create various types of statistical

analyses and how to interpret the results. The sample data files used in the

examples are also provided so that you can work through the examples to see

exactly how the results were produced. You can choose the specific procedure(s)

you want to learn about from the table of contents or search for relevant topics

in the index.

 Statistics Coach. A wizard-like approach to guide you through the process of

finding the procedure that you want to use. After you make a series of selections,

the Statistics Coach opens the dialog box for the statistical, reporting, or charting

procedure that meets your selected criteria. The Statistics Coach provides

access to most statistical and reporting procedures in the Base system and many

charting procedures.

 Command Syntax Reference. Detailed command syntax reference information is

provided in the SPSS Command Syntax Reference, available from the Help menu.

Context-sensitive H elp. In many places in the user interface, you can get

context-sensitive Help.