A codebook is a type of document used for gathering and storing codes. Originally codebooks were often literally books, but today codebook is a byword for the complete record of a series of codes, regardless of physical format. – Wikipedia
The codebook command was introduced in IBM SPSS Statistics version 17. It provides information about the variables in a data pool, such as the type, variable labels, value labels, as well as the number of cases in each level of categorical variables and means and standard deviations of continuous variables. This information can be as important as the data themselves, because it helps to give meaning to the data.
You can access the codebook dialog via the SPSS menu by clicking on:
Analyze -> Reports -> Codebook.
Codebook Variables Tab
The Variables tab allows you to select one or more variables and/or multiple response sets.
Codebook Output Tab
The Output tab controls the variable information included for each variable and multiple response set, the order in which the variables and multiple response sets are displayed, and the contents of the optional file information table.
Codebook Statistics Tab
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The Statistics tab allows you to control the summary statistics that are included in the output, or suppress the display of summary statistics entirely.
Codebook Results
Once you run your codebook all of the output (based upon your selections) is displayed in the IBM SPSS Viewer “results pane”, where it can be reviewed and/or formatted for presentation. The codebook “default output” includes:
• Variable information for all variables in the data pool, except for reserved system attributes.
• Counts and percents for all categories of nominal and ordinal variables, labeled categories of scale variables, and multiple response sets.
• Mean, standard deviation, and quartiles for scale variables.
Recommendations
Take full advantage of SPSS Codebook to document each data pool used in your predictive analysis and expect the same for any predictive professional you do business with. It is considered a “best practice” prerequisite.
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