Adding Value Labels

Value labels provide a method for mapping your variable values to a string label. In this example, there are two acceptable values for the marital variable. A value of 0 means that the subject is single, and a value of 1 means that he or she is married.

  1. Click the Values cell for the marital row, and then click the button on the right side of the cell to open the Value Labels dialog box.

    The value is the actual numeric value.

    The value label is the string label that is applied to the specified numeric value.

  2. Type 0 in the Value field.
  3. Type Single in the Label field.
  4. Click Add to add this label to the list.
    Figure 1. Value Labels dialog box
    The Value Labels dialog box with two value labels defined: 0 = "Single" and 1 = "Married".
  5. Type 1 in the Value field, and type Married in the Label field.
  6. Click Add, and then click OK to save your changes and return to the Data Editor.

    These labels can also be displayed in Data View, which can make your data more readable.

  7. Click the Data View tab at the bottom of the Data Editor window.
  8. From the menus choose:

View > Value Labels

The labels are now displayed in a list when you enter values in the Data Editor. This setup has the benefit of suggesting a valid response and providing a more descriptive answer.

If the Value Labels menu item is already active (with a check mark next to it), choosing Value Labels again will turn off the display of value labels.

Next