Addressing an SPSS Installation Problem

I know that many of you have had problems installing SPSS Student Version 17 software due to "error 1330." The good people at SPSS/PASW know this and have provided a solution. You can download the software directly from Pearson who distributes the software to educational institutions. The process will require you to download the entire program, so make sure you have a high-speed connection. You will end up with the SPSS/PASW Statistics Student Version 18, the same one I use in our class. Below is the link to Pearson's website to get things rolling. As they state at their website, the only information you will need is the ISBN # (i.e., 978-0-13-8010942) which is used for the serial number.

http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8285/kw/spss

You’ll need to register with Pearson first, once you arrive at the link. In turn, they’ll immediately verify your registration via email. Then you’ll get the download link. Go there and download the large "patch" file. Install it by double clicking on the icon downloaded to your desktop (or wherever you downloaded the file). I hope this helps!

A special thanks goes out to Robert Wildonger (PS 205) for being the first to identify the solution to this software headache!

How This Site Works

To get started, you must register at this site. Look for the link at the bottom left side of this webpage found directly below The Savvy Who've Joined "Broken Pencils." Once you've joined and signed in, ask yourself "Am I having trouble with any class lecture material, PowerPoints, or an SPSS assignment?" If so, email me at asziner@rcn.com about the specific area to which you'd like to receive clarification (such as "Fifth and Sixth Steps in Hypothesis Testing," "Calculating z-scores," etc.). Have more than one concern? Fine. Ask away. Don't worry if you stumble through writing the precise question. If need be, I'll try to clarify your query in my reply. Once read, I’ll decide whether to answer you directly via email (hence, no blog on the subject will be forthcoming) or post my response on this blog. Naturally, all students who have joined “Broken Pencils” are encouraged to add to the discussion whether to further address questions about the material or offer their own insight. To post your follow-up comment to a blog, click on the specific blog's title. When a new screen opens up, write your reply in the "comments" window and then click to post it!

I sincerely hope you are not intimidated by this process. Chances are that you’ll have the same questions as your classmates!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Professor A.S. Ziner

P.S.  To download any file from this website, just place your cursor over the file description and click the right-side mouse button (i.e., "right click").  A window will appear.  Highlight and click on "Save Target As" to save the file onto your laptop or desktop.   Be sure to remember where you downloaded the file.  I initially put saved files on my desktop and then file them away.  Enjoy!

Why You Should be Taking Statistics

“I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. People think I’m joking, but who would’ve guessed that computer engineers would’ve been the sexy job of the 1990s? The ability to take data—to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it — that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for elementary school kids, for high school kids, for college kids. Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it.”

- Hal Varian, Professor of Information Sciences, Business, and Economics at the University of California at Berkeley