Add Variables together in SPSS using the Compute Procedure (Using the Sum Function) - Part 2

Add Variables together in SPSS using the Compute Procedure (Using the Sum Function) - Part 2 Video Transcript: let's click OK now. And notice this is going to be called Total_SumF for the function, sum function. And we'll go to our data and notice here, here's our total with the sum function. Notice that all the totals agree until we get to observation number 9. Now here for observation number 9, notice the difference. When the manual add sum we used Q1 plus Q2 all the way to Q5, when we did that manually, without using a function, it returns just a missing value. But when you use the sum function, it actually adds the values that are valid. Notice here we have 13, 20, 27, so that's the total that was returned using the sum function. Now which one of these you want to use in the presence of a missing value depends on what your objectives are. If we don't know why the person did not complete this question, then having this total here that we obtained via the sum function, could be misleading. Because it could look like their total satisfaction on the five questions was actually lower than it was. Because if you look here, they responded with 7s on three of the four questions, yet their total was lower because this was ignored. So, in other words, only four questions were added together. It's important to recognize with the sum function. Now that may be okay, depending on what you're doing. If you have a multiple choice test and someone does not complete a question, well then they don't get a point for that, and that would make sense to use the sum function to add up the total. But if you're trying to assess something like satisfaction, that's another question, and simply giving a total that ignores missing values could be problematic. There are ways to replace missing values and so forth but that's beyond the scope of this tutorial. OK so using these two functions, in summary, we obtain the same values across the board, with the exception of when a missing value is present. So as long as there's no missing values in your entire data set, either function will return the same answer. If there is one or missing values, then the functions will differ. This concludes the tutorial on examining the sum function and manual adding of items in SPSS. Lifetime access to SPSS videos: http://tinyurl.com/kuejrzz YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/statisticsinstructor Channel Description: For step by step help with statistics, with a focus on SPSS. Both descriptive and inferential statistics covered. For descriptive statistics, topics covered include: mean, median, and mode in spss, standard deviation and variance in spss, bar charts in spss, histograms in spss, bivariate scatterplots in spss, stem and leaf plots in spss, frequency distribution tables in spss, creating labels in spss, sorting variables in spss, inserting variables in spss, inserting rows in spss, and modifying default options in spss. For inferential statistics, topics covered include: t tests in spss, anova in spss, correlation in spss, regression in spss, chi square in spss, and MANOVA in spss. New videos regularly posted. Videos series coming soon include: multiple regression in spss, factor analysis in spss, nonparametric tests in spss, multiple comparisons in spss, linear contrasts in spss, and many more. Subscribe today! YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/statisticsinstructor Lifetime access to SPSS videos: http://tinyurl.com/m2532td Learn how to add variables together in SPSS using the SUM Function. SPSS videos statisticsinstructor/Quantitative Specialists: YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/statisticsinstructor Udemy inferential course: https://www.udemy.com/inferential-statistics-spss Udemy descriptives course: https://www.udemy.com/descriptive-statistics-spss Udemy ANOVA course: https://www.udemy.com/anova-spss Udemy MANOVA course: https://www.udemy.com/manova-spss