SPSS at Holy Cross

A blog providing resources and support related to use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences at the College of the Holy Cross

Patches for SPSS version 16


Go here to download several patches (a.k.a. “bug fixes”) to SPSS version 16 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. These allegedly fix performance issues related to working with and exporting large tables.

There is also a discussion thread on the comp.soft-sys.stat.spss discussion forum that address these and other issues with SPSS 16.

The patches must be downloaded and run on your individual computer once you have installed SPSS 16.


SPSS 16 now available


SPSS version 16 is now available at Holy Cross for both Windows and Mac users.

Windows users can install SPSS 16 via the NAL window. Double-click the SPSS 16 icon and the software will be installed to your computer, registered and ready to go.

SPSS 16 for Mac users can be installed on either Intel or PowerPC machines. Contact Ron Sarja (rsarja@holycross.edu) or Richard Lent (rlent@holycross.edu) if you wish to have SPSS 16 installed on your Mac.


What’s new in SPSS 16 for Windows


Go here for a summary of new features in SPSS version 16 for Windows.  Most of the enhancements also apply to version 16 for the Mac OS X.


Review of SPSS 16 for Mac


Go here to read a MacWorld review of SPSS 16 for the Mac.


SPSS 15 tutorials


If you are new to SPSS 15 for Windows, a good place to start is the SPSS Tutorial. Start SPSS (Start -> Programs -> SPSS for Windows -> SPSS 15.0 for Windows). Then, from the SPSS Data Editor, click Help, then Tutorial. You can either work sequentially through the 16 chapters or choose individual topics of interest.

In addition to the Help Menu tutorial, a Google search on “SPSS tutorials” will turn up many sites offering help with SPSS. Interesting SPSS tutorial sites include (some of these sites pertain to earlier versions of SPSS and may contain institution-specific information):

Guide to SPSS (Harvard-MIT Data Center)
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Furman University)


SPSS versions


At Holy Cross the current versions of SPSS are Version 15 for Windows and Version 13 for Mac OS X. The latest version is 16 for both Windows and Mac; the College should be upgrading to version 16 sometime this fall. Click here to download a PDF file describing the features of SPSS Version 16.


Welcome to the Holy Cross SPSS blog


This blog will provide support, resources, and discussion relating to use of SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, at the College of the Holy Cross.