Baseline frequency
Establish the initial dispersal of a categorical outcome
For a within-subjects design, a "pretest" or baseline measure of a categorical outcome can be taken and used as either a descriptor or a control by which later measures will be compared (a "post-test" or "maintenance" observation). Categorical variables are reported as frequencies and often in cross-tabulation tables.
The steps for conducting frequency statistics in SPSS
1. The data is entered in a within-subjects fashion.
2. Click Analyze.
3. Drag the cursor over the Descriptive Statistics drop-down menu.
4. Click Frequencies.
5. Click on the categorical outcome variable to highlight it.
6. Click on the arrow to move the variable into the Variable(s): box.
7. Click OK.
2. Click Analyze.
3. Drag the cursor over the Descriptive Statistics drop-down menu.
4. Click Frequencies.
5. Click on the categorical outcome variable to highlight it.
6. Click on the arrow to move the variable into the Variable(s): box.
7. Click OK.
The steps for interpreting the SPSS output for baseline frequency statistics
1. Look in the table with the variable's name as the title, in the Frequency and Valid Percent columns. These are the values will be interpreted.
2. The Frequency is the number of times each level of the categorical variable occurred.
3. The Valid Percent column presents the percentage that the frequency represents for the entire sample.
2. The Frequency is the number of times each level of the categorical variable occurred.
3. The Valid Percent column presents the percentage that the frequency represents for the entire sample.
Click on the Download Database and Download Data Dictionary buttons for a configured database and data dictionary for baseline frequency statistics.
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