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Using Graphs To Describe And Explore The Data

While the numerical values obtained in Chapter 6 provide useful information concerning
your sample and your variables, some aspects are better explored visually. SPSS for
Windows provides a number of different types of graphs (referred to by SPSS as
charts). In this chapter I’ll cover the basic procedures to obtain the following graphs:

1. Histograms;
2. Bar graphs;
3. Scatterplots;
4. Boxplots; and
5. Line graphs.

Spend some time experimenting with each of the different graphs and exploring their
possibilities. In this chapter only a brief overview is given to get you started.

To illustrate the various graphs I have used the survey.sav data file, which is included
on the website accompanying this book (see p. xi and the Appendix for details). If you
wish to follow along with the procedures described in this chapter you will need to start
SPSS and open the file labelled survey.sav. This file can be opened only in SPSS.

At the end of this chapter instructions are also given on how to edit a graph to better
suit your needs. This may be useful if you intend to use the graph in your research
paper. SPSS graphs can be imported directly into your Word document. The procedure
for doing this is detailed at the end of this chapter.

1. Histograms

Histograms are used to display the distribution of a single continuous variable (e.g. age,
perceived stress scores).

Procedure for creating a histogram

1. From the menu at the top of the screen click on: Graphs, then click on Histogram.
2. Click on your variable of interest and move it into the Variable box. This should be a
continuous variable (e.g. total perceived stress).
3. Click on Display normal curve.This option will give you the distribution of your
variable and, superimposed over the top, how a normal curve for this distribution would
look.
4. If you wish to give your graph a title click on the Titles button and type the desired
title in the box (e.g. Histogram of Perceived Stress scores).
5. Click on Continue, and then OK.

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Interpretation of output from Histogram

Inspection of the shape of the histogram provides information about the distribution of
scores on the continuous variable. Many of the statistics discussed in this manual
assume that the scores on each of the variables are normally distributed (i.e. follow the
shape of the normal curve). In this example, the scores are reasonably normally
distributed, with most scores occurring in the centre, tapering out towards the
extremes. It is quite common in the social sciences, however, to find that variables are
not normally distributed. Scores may be skewed to the left or right or, alternatively,
arranged in a rectangular shape. For further discussion of the assessment of the
normality of variables,

2. Bar graphs
Bar graphs can be simple or very complex, depending on how many variables you wish
to include. The bar graph can show the number of cases in particular categories, or it
can show the score on some continuous variable for different categories. Basically you
need two main variables—one categorical and one continuous. You can also break this
down further with another categorical variable if you wish.

Procedure for creating a bar graph

1. from the menu at the top of the screen click on: Graphs, then Bar.
2. Click on Clustered.
3. In the Data in chart are section, click on Summaries for groups of cases. Click
on Define.
4. In the Bars represent box, click on Other summary function.
5. Click on the continuous variable you are interested in (e.g. total perceived stress).
This should appear in the box listed as Mean (Total Perceived Stress). This indicates
that the mean on the Perceived Stress Scale for the different groups will be displayed.
6. Click on your first categorical variable (e.g. agegp3). Click on the arrow button to
move it into the Category axis box. This variable will appear across the bottom of
your bar graph (X axis).
7. Click on another categorical variable (e.g. sex) and move it into the Define Clusters
by: box. This variable will be represented in the legend.
8. Click on OK.

Interpretation of output from Bar Graph

The output from this procedure gives you a quick summary of the distribution of scores
for the groups that you have requested (in this case, males and females from the
different age groups). The graph presented above suggests that females had higher
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perceived stress scores than males, and that this difference is more pronounced among
the two older age groups. Among the 18 to 29 age group the difference in scores
between males and females is very small.

Care should be taken when interpreting the output from Bar Graph. You should always
look at the scale used on the Y (vertical) axis. Sometimes what looks like a dramatic
difference is really only a few scale points and, therefore, probably of little importance.
This is clearly evident in the bar graph displayed above. You will see that the difference
between the groups is quite small when you consider the scale used to display the
graph. The difference between the smallest score (males aged 45 or more) and the
highest score (females aged 18 to 29) is only about three points.
To assess the significance of any difference you might find between groups it is
necessary to conduct further statistical analyses. In this case, a two-way, between
groups analysis of variance would be conducted to find out if the differences are
statistically significant.

3. Scatterplots

Scatterplots are typically used to explore the relationship between two continuous
variables (e.g. age and self-esteem). It is a good idea to generate a scatterplot, before
calculating correlations (see Chapter 11). The scatterplot will give you an indication of
whether your variables are related in a linear (straight-line) or curvilinear fashion. Only
linear relationships are suitable for correlation analyses.

The scatterplot will also indicate whether your variables are positively related (high
scores on one variable are associated with high scores on the other) or negatively
related (high scores on one are associated with low scores on the other). For positive
correlations, the points form a line pointing upwards to the right (that is, they start low
on the left-hand side and move higher on the right).

For negative correlations, the line starts high on the left and moves down on the right
(see an example of this in the output below).
The scatterplot also provides a general indication of the strength of the relationship
between your two variables. If the relationship is weak, the points will be all over the
place, in a blob-type arrangement. For a strong relationship the points will form a vague
cigar shape, with a definite clumping of scores around an imaginary straight line.

In the example that follows I request a scatterplot of scores on two of the scales in the
survey: the Total Perceived Stress and the Total Perceived Control of Internal
States Scale (PCOISS). I have asked for two groups in my sample (males and females)
to be represented separately on the one scatterplot (using different symbols).

This not only provides me with information concerning my sample as a whole but also
gives additional information on the distribution of scores for males and females. If you
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wish to obtain a scatterplot for the full sample (not split by group), just ignore the
instructions below in the section labelled ‘Set Markers by’.

Procedure for creating a scatterplot

1. From the menu at the top of the screen click on: Graphs, then on Scatter.
2. Click on Simple and then Define.
3. Click on your first variable, usually the one you consider is the dependent variable,
(e.g. total perceived stress).
4. Click on the arrow to move it into the box labelled Y axis. This variable will appear
on the vertical axis.
5. Move your other variable (e.g. total PCOISS) into the box labelled X axis. This
variable will appear on the horizontal axis. You can also have SPSS mark each of the
points according to some other categorical variable (e.g. sex). Move this variable into
the Set Markers by: box.
This will display males and females using different markers.
7. Move the ID variable in the Label Cases by: box. This will allow you to find out the
ID number of a case from the graph if you find an outlier.
8. If you wish to attach a title to the graph, click on the Titles button Type in the
desired title and click on Continue.
9. Click on OK.

Interpretation of output from Scatterplot

From the output above, there appears to be a moderate, negative correlation between
the two variables (Perceived Stress and PCOISS) for the sample as a whole.
Respondents with high levels of perceived control (shown on the X, or horizontal, axis)
experience lower levels of perceived stress (shown on the Y, or vertical, axis). On the
other hand, people with low levels of perceived control have much greater perceived
stress. There is no indication of a curvilinear relationship, so it would be appropriate to
calculate a Pearson product-moment correlation for these two variables. Remember,
the scatterplot does not give you definitive answers; you need to follow it up with the
calculation of the appropriate statistic (in this case, Pearson product-moment
correlation coefficient).

4. Boxplots

Boxplots are useful when you wish to compare the distribution of scores on variables.
You can use them to explore the distribution of one continuous variable (e.g. positive
affect) or alternatively you can ask for scores to be broken down for different groups
(e.g. age groups). You can also add an extra categorical variable to compare (e.g.
males and females). In the example below I will explore the distribution of scores on
the Positive Affect scale for males and females.

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Procedure for creating a boxplot

1. From the menu at the top of the screen click on: Graphs, then click on Boxplot.
2. Click on Simple. In the Data in Chart Are section click on Summaries for
groups of cases. Click on the Define button.
3. Click on your continuous variable (e.g. total positive affect). Click the arrow button to
move it into the Variable box.
4. Click on your categorical variable (e.g. sex). Click on the arrow button to move into
the Category axis box.
5. Click on ID and move it into the Label cases box. This will allow you to identify the
ID numbers of any cases with extreme values.
6. Click on OK.

Interpretation of output from Boxplot

The output from Boxplot gives you a lot of information about the distribution of your
continuous variable and the possible influence of your other categorical variable (and
cluster variable if used).

• Each distribution of scores is represented by a box and protruding lines (called

whiskers). The length of the box is the variable’s interquartile range and contains 50
per cent of cases. The line across the inside of the box represents the median value.
The whiskers protruding from the box go out to the variable’s smallest and largest
values.
• Any scores that SPSS considers are outliers appear as little circles with a number
attached (this is the ID number of the case). Outliers are cases with scores that are
quite different from the remainder of the sample, either much higher or much lower.
SPSS defines points as outliers if they extend more than
1.5 box-lengths from the edge of the box. Extreme points (indicated with an asterisk, *)
are those that extend more than 3 box-lengths from the edge of the box. For more
information on outliers, see Chapter 6. In the example above there are a number of
outliers at the low values for Positive Affect for both males and females.

• In addition to providing information on outliers, a boxplot allow you to inspect the

pattern of scores for your various groups. It provides an indication of the variability in
scores within each group and allows a visual inspection of the differences between
groups. In the example presented above, the distribution of scores on Positive Affect for
males and females is very similar.

5. Line graphs

A line graph allows you to inspect the mean scores of a continuous variable across a
number of different values of a categorical variable (e.g. time 1, time 2, time 3). They
are also useful for graphically exploring the results of a one- or two-way analysis of

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variance. Line graphs are provided as an optional extra in the output of analysis of
variance. This procedure shows you how to generate a line graph without having to run
ANOVA.

Procedure for creating a line graph

1. From the menu at the top of the screen click on: Graphs, then click on Line.
2. Click on Multiple. In the Data in Chart Are section, click on Summaries for
groups of cases. Click on Define.
3. In the Lines represent box, click on Other summary function. Click on the
continuous variable you are interested in (e.g. total perceived stress). Click on the
arrow button. The variable should appear in the box listed as Mean (Total Perceived
Stress). This indicates that the mean on the Perceived Stress Scale for the different
groups will be displayed.
4. Click on your first categorical variable (e.g. agegp3). Click on the arrow button to
move it into the Category Axis box. This variable will appear across the bottom of
your line graph (X axis).
5. Click on another categorical variable (e.g. sex) and move it into the Define Lines
by: box. This variable will be represented in the legend.
6. Click on OK.

Interpretation of output from Line Graph

The line graph displayed above contains a good deal of information.

• First, you can look at the impact of age on perceived stress for each of the sexes
separately. Younger males appear to have higher levels of perceived stress than either
middle-aged or older males. For females the difference across the age groups is not
quite so pronounced. The older females are only slightly less stressed than the younger
group.
• You can also consider the difference between males and females. Overall, males
appear to have lower levels of perceived stress than females. Although the difference
for the younger group is only small, there appears to be a discrepancy for the older age
groups. Whether or not these differences reach statistical significance can be
determined only by performing a two-way analysis of variance.

The results presented above suggest that to understand the impact of age on perceived
stress you must consider the respondents’ gender. This sort of relationship is referred
to, when doing analysis of variance, as an interaction effect. While the use of a line
graph does not tell you whether this relationship is statistically significant, it certainly
gives you a lot of information and raises a lot of additional questions. Sometimes in
interpreting the output from SPSS it is useful to consider other questions. In this case
the results suggest that it may be worthwhile to explore in more depth the relationship
between age and perceived stress for the two groups (males and females). To do this I
decided to split the sample, not just into three groups for age, as in the above graph,

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but into five groups to get more detailed information concerning the influence of age.

After dividing the group into five equal groups (by creating a new variable,
age5gp: instructions for this process are presented in Chapter 8), a new line graph was
generated. This gives us a clearer picture of the influence of age than the previous line
graph using only three age groups.

Editing a chart/graph

Sometimes modifications need to be made to the titles, labels, markers etc. of a graph
before you can print it or use it in your report. For example, I have edited some of the
graphs displayed in this chapter to make them clearer (e.g. changing the patterns in the
bar graph, thickening the lines used in the line graph). To edit a chart or graph you
need to open the Chart Editor window. To do this, place your cursor on the
graph that you wish to modify. Double-click and a new window will appear, complete
with additional menu options and icons

There are a number of changes you can make while in Chart Editor:
• To change the words used in labels or title, click once on the title to highlight it (a
blue box should appear around the text), click once again to edit the text (a red cursor
should appear). Modify the text and then press Enter on your keyboard when you have
finished.
• To change the position of the chart title or the X and Y axis labels (e.g. to centre
them), double-click on the title you wish to change—in the Properties box that appears
click on the Text tab. In the section labelled Justify, choose the position you want (the
dot means centred, the left arrow moves it to the left, and the right arrow moves it to
the right).
• To change the characteristics of the text, lines, markers, colours and patterns used in
the chart, click once on the aspect of the graph that you wish to change, and then right
click on your mouse and choose the Properties box.
The various tabs in this box will allow you to change aspects of the graph.
In the case where you want to change one of the lines of a multiple-line graph you will
need to highlight the specific category in the legend (rather than on the graph itself).
This is useful for changing one of the lines to dashes so that it is more clearly
distinguishable when printed out in black and white.

Importing charts/graphs into Word documents

SPSS allows you to copy charts directly into your word processor (e.g. Word for
Windows). This is useful when you are preparing the final version of your report and
want to present some of your results in the form of a graph. Sometimes a graph will
present your results more simply and clearly than numbers in a box.

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Don’t go overboard—use only for special effect. Make sure you modify the graph to
make it as clear as possible before transferring it to Word.

Procedure for importing a chart into a Word document

Windows allows you to have more than one program open at a time. To transfer
between SPSS and Word you will need to have both of these programs open. It is
possible to swap backwards and forwards between the two just by clicking on the
appropriate icon at the bottom of your screen. This is like shuffling pieces of paper
around on your desk.

1. Start Word and open the file in which you would like the graph to appear. Click on
the SPSS icon on the bottom of your screen to return to SPSS.
2. Make sure you have the Viewer window on the screen in front of you.
3. Click once on the graph that you would like to copy. A border should appear around
the graph.
4. Click on Edit (from the menu at the top of the page) and then choose Copy
Objects.
This saves the chart to the clipboard (you won’t be able to see it, however).
5. from the list of minimized programs at the bottom of your screen, click on your word
processor (e.g. Microsoft Word). This will activate Word again (i.e. bring it back to
the screen in front of you).
6. In the Word document place your cursor where you wish to insert the chart.
7. Click on Edit from the Word menu and choose Paste. Or just click on the Paste
icon on the top menu bar (it looks like a clipboard).
8. Click on File and then Save to save your Word document.
9. To move back to SPSS to continue with your analyses, just click on the SPSS icon,
which should be listed at the bottom of your screen.

With both programs open you can just jump backwards and forwards between the two
programs, copying charts, tables etc. There is no need to close either of the programs
until you have finished completely. Just remember to save as you go along.

IBM SPSS-Using Graphs To Describe And Explore The Data Lect Yaqub Muse