Overview (EXAMINE command)

EXAMINE provides stem-and-leaf plots, histograms, boxplots, normal plots, robust estimates of location, tests of normality, and other descriptive statistics. Separate analyses can be obtained for subgroups of cases.

Options

Cells. You can subdivide cases into cells based on their values for grouping (factor) variables using the BY keyword on the VARIABLES subcommand.

Output. You can control the display of output using the COMPARE subcommand. You can specify the computational method and break points for percentiles with the PERCENTILES subcommand, and you can assign a variable to be used for labeling outliers on the ID subcommand.

Plots. You can request stem-and-leaf plots, histograms, vertical boxplots, spread-versus-level plots with Levene tests for homogeneity of variance, and normal and detrended probability plots with tests for normality. These plots are available through the PLOT subcommand.

Statistics. You can request univariate statistical output with the STATISTICS subcommand and maximum-likelihood estimators with the MESTIMATORS subcommand.

Basic Specification

  • The basic specification is VARIABLES and at least one dependent variable.
  • The default output includes a Descriptives table displaying univariate statistics (mean, median, standard deviation, standard error, variance, kurtosis, kurtosis standard error, skewness, skewness standard error, sum, interquartile range (IQR), range, minimum, maximum, and 5% trimmed mean), a vertical boxplot, and a stem-and-leaf plot. Outliers are labeled on the boxplot with the system variable $CASENUM.

Subcommand Order

Subcommands can be named in any order.

Limitations

  • When string variables are used as factors, only the first eight characters are used to form cells. String variables cannot be specified as dependent variables.
  • When more than eight crossed factors (for example, A, B, ... in the specification Y by A by B by ...) are specified, the command is not executed.