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Boslaugh 2005
Sarah Boslaugh
An intermediate guide to SPSS programming: using syntax for data management
(Sage 2005)
After all the other SPSS books I'm reviewing, it's like a breath of fresh air: clear and concise, nicely written and presented, and I finished it in two sittings (in preference to John Le Carré!). It's absolutely wonderful: I have always been considered (by others) an expert in SPSS, having been a user, consultant and teacher since 1972, but I learned a few things from this book, some new, some better explained than in manuals or by the experts on the SPSSX-Listerver. There's far more coverage than in other books and I particularly like the approach of posing data-management and research problems and situations before launching into SPSS syntax. The author has clearly worked on dozens if not hundreds of different data sets for different clients and/or students and comes across as a rare kindred spirit.
The book is based on SPSS 11 so some of her syntax examples are by now rather dated, and SPSS has largely superceded them, but her logic and method remain valid and relevant. Has she thought about a new edition? In private correspondence, she says yes, and with SPSS 18. preferably with much larger, and real, data sets: also, despite her reservations about different operational environments, some actual screenshots?
An intermediate guide to SPSS programming: using syntax for data management
(Sage 2005)
After all the other SPSS books I'm reviewing, it's like a breath of fresh air: clear and concise, nicely written and presented, and I finished it in two sittings (in preference to John Le Carré!). It's absolutely wonderful: I have always been considered (by others) an expert in SPSS, having been a user, consultant and teacher since 1972, but I learned a few things from this book, some new, some better explained than in manuals or by the experts on the SPSSX-Listerver. There's far more coverage than in other books and I particularly like the approach of posing data-management and research problems and situations before launching into SPSS syntax. The author has clearly worked on dozens if not hundreds of different data sets for different clients and/or students and comes across as a rare kindred spirit.
The book is based on SPSS 11 so some of her syntax examples are by now rather dated, and SPSS has largely superceded them, but her logic and method remain valid and relevant. Has she thought about a new edition? In private correspondence, she says yes, and with SPSS 18. preferably with much larger, and real, data sets: also, despite her reservations about different operational environments, some actual screenshots?
