Question
A student here is unable to use SPSS to work with Canadian Internet Use Surveys. I am not surprised by his first complaint – I could see that already - but can anyone give me advice on how to resolve his other two issues? Is there some step he might be missing in installing the syntax files? He reports:
1. They are not self extracting. Instead they use a syntax to load the files.
2. The syntax does not appear to work on my version of spss.
3. The error messages tell me that I am unable to save the output file and that text file is not compatible
Answer
I'd check that the path statements pointing to the data file and saved files are correct -- it's a common mistake to make. Being unable to save the output file may mean that the program has had no data file to work with, which would be true if the path was incorrect. If he's using a student version, they can be limited in the number of cases and columns the data file is allowed to have. Also, ask the student to attach the output from running the SPSS syntax; that would help a lot with diagnosing any problems.
