Missing values

Functions and simple arithmetic expressions treat missing values in different ways. In the expression

(var1+var2+var3)/3

the result is missing if a case has a missing value for any of the three variables.

In the expression

MEAN(var1, var2, var3)

the result is missing only if the case has missing values for all three variables.

For statistical functions, you can specify the minimum number of arguments that must have nonmissing values. To do so, type a period and the minimum number after the function name, as in:

MEAN.2(var1, var2, var3)

The following sections contain more information on the treatment of missing values in functions and transformation expressions, including special missing value functions.

• Treatment of missing values in arguments
• Missing values in numeric expressions
• Missing values in string expressions
• Missing values in logical expressions
• Missing value functions