Activity 17.4
Using SPSS to Compare Three Means with an F-test (ANOVA)

Go to SPSS and open the 2000 General Social Survey data set (GSS2000depr) that accompanies this text (download / help downloading). You are going to compare the mean hours of television watched by race (white, black, other).

Click on "Analyze" near the top of the page; when a box appears under "Analyze," click on "Compare Means." When a box appears to the side, click on "One-Way ANOVA." You are now looking at a new window titled "One-Way ANOVA." Scroll through the variables on the left and highlight "tvhours". Use the arrow button to move "tvhours" into the box titled "Dependent List." Next, use the arrow button to move the variable "race" into the box titled "Factor." Below this box is a button labeled "Options." Click on this button and check off "Descriptive." If you do not choose this option, SPSS will not provide the mean values of the dependent variable by group in the output viewer.

Click on the "Continue" button, then on the "OK" button. SPSS will calculate the mean hours of television watching for the three groups of whites, blacks, and others, an F score for those three means, and the level of statistical significance. Describe the difference between the mean hours of television watching of white, black, and other respondents. Explain how likely is it that there is no difference between these mean ages in the population from which this sample was drawn.