In case you do not have data you like on your CD, here is where you can find more. The entire General Social Survey (GSS) is available on-line.

(E.g: suppose you are interested in gender and racial differences in how people think about surrogate motherhood.)

A. This is what you do to find your variables:

Step 1. Go to http://sda.berkeley.edu/D3/GSS04/Doc/gs04.htm

This is where you find the Codebook for GSS. Remember this is for the cumulative file for data between 1972 and 2004.

(Some variables are from very long time ago. And certain variables cannot be used together because one was asked one year, the other in another year but never in the same year. Unfortunately, you will not find out about the year the variable was included in the survey until later.)

Step 2. On the sidebar you can choose various ways to list the variables. Go to the Sequential Variable List and you will find a list of topics and subtopics.

(E.g.: Under the category FAMILY-FINANCES-DONATIONS you find the subcategory: Exchange of Human Organs, Babies and Sex)

Step 3. Click on a subtopic and that will display the variable names (up to 8 characters) and variable labels.

(E.g.: SELLBABY SURROGATE MOTHERS SHOULD BE PERMITTED)

Step 4. Click on the variable names and you will see the questions that generated the variable.

(E.g.: 629. Recently, some married couples who are unable to have 
children have paid women, called "surrogate mothers," to bear a 
child for them. When the child is born, the couple becomes its 
adoptive parents and the surrogate mother receives a fee. Do you 
think that this practice should be permitted or forbidden under 

the law?)

You will also find the frequency distribution of the variable and some additional information about the properties of the variable.

Step 5. Write down the variable name (now displayed with a pinkish background).

(E.g.: SELLBABY)

Step 6. Look for the others you want. Write down each.

(E.g. SEX, RACE)

B. this is how you get/download these variables so that you can work with them

Step 7. Go to this site:

http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss04

On the top bar click on Download and then on Customized Subset.

A new window will open.

Step 8. Check the box next to SPSS.

Step 9. In the box you find under Select VARIABLES to include (individually and/or by group) enter the variable names. As the last one write: YEAR

(E.g.: SELLBABY SEX RACE YEAR)

Step 10. Click on Continue at the bottom. Now you see a new window again.

Step. 11. Click on Create the Files. The new window will say Download Files.

Step 12. Follow the instructions on this page and download all three files:

Data File

Codebook

SPSS file

Save them on a memory stick or CD. When you save the last file (SPSS file) give it a new extension. Change .txt to .sps

The first file (Data file) has the data in ASCII format. The second file (Codebook) has the description of the variables. The third file (SPSS file where you changed the extension to .sps) is the syntax file. It is the file of SPSS instructions, how to turn the Data file into a special data file for SPSS (called and SPSS system file).

NOW YOU WILL NEED SPSS. SO TO GO ANY FURTHER YOU WILL NEED TO BE IN THE LAB OR OWN SPSS. SUPPOSE YOU ARE IN THE LAB.

C. this is how you Create the SPSS system/data file

Step 13. Login and start up SPSS.

Step 14. Bring in the syntax file (*.sps) by clicking on File -- Open -- Syntax

A new window will appear. The file in the window will start something like this:

SPSS Data Definition File

Created by ddltox on Oct 02, 2007 (Tue 08:46 PM PDT)

DDL source file: "/csm/7502docs/TMPDIR/AANHaOf1.txt".

TITLE "General Social Surveys, 1972-2004 [Cumulative File]".

COMMENT DDL indicates that dataset record length (reclen) is 15 columns.

DATA LIST fixed records=1

FILE="x" /* Replace 'x' with full path name of your input data file.

Step 15. Replace 'x' with full path name of your input data file. Keep the quotations around it.

(E.g.: DATA LIST fixed records=1

FILE="H: AAoFaaUL.txt " /* Replace 'x' with full path name of your input data file

Step 16. Execute the file. Highlight everything in the file (CTR A) and click on the small button with the left pointing black triangle on it.

D. this is how you Check whether you have the right years

Step 17. Click on the Analyze -- Descriptive Statistics -- Crosstabs

Step 18. Put the variable YEAR in the Column(s) box by highlighting it on the left and moving it into the right middle window with the help of the middle button with the right pointing black triangle on it.

Step 19. Put all the other variables in the Row(s) box.

(E.g.: SELLBABY, RACE, SEX)

Step 20. Click OK and there will be a couple of tables (Crosstabulations), one for every variable with YEAR.

The year when the question was asked will be listed in each table. If you have the same year listed for every variable and you are happy with the year: BINGO!! You are done. You just have to save the file. If not you have to go back for other variables.

E. this is how you Save the SPSS system/data file

Step 21. Switch to the SPSS Data Editor window. Click on File -- Save As and name the file and save it on your memory stick or CD. It will acquire a .sav extension.