Data tab

The Data tab provides a convenient, spreadsheet-like method for creating and editing data files. The Data tab displays the actual data values for each variable.

Many of the Data tab features are similar to the features that are 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 that is being measured. For example, each item on a questionnaire is a variable.
• Cells contain values. Each cell contains a single value of a variable for a case. The cell is where the case and the variable intersect. 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 of 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 boundaries. 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.

You can enable the Show labels toggle control to display defined variable label values instead of the variables names.

Click the Variables tab to create and edit variable labels.

Variable information pane

The Data tab includes a Variable information pane that displays statistical and missing value information for each data set variable. The pane also suggests common analysis procedures (based on the variable type). To display the Variable information pane, click any column header inside the dataset and then click the Variable information control.