Multiple response crosstabs/frequencies based on categorical variable in SPSS

Question

I've just started using SPSS after using R for about five years (I'm not happy about it, but you do what your boss tells you). I'm just trying to do a simple count based on a categorical variable.

I have a data set where I know a person's year of birth. I've recoded into a new variable so that I have their generation as a categorical variable, named Generation. I also have a question that allows for multiple responses. I want a frequency of how many times each response was collected.

I've created a multiple response variable (analyze>multiple response > Define variable sets). However, when I go to create crosstabs, the Generation variable isn't an option to select. I've tried googling, but the videos I have watched have the row variables as numeric.

Here is a google sheet that shows what I have and what I'm looking to achieve: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oIMrhYv33ZQwPz3llX9mfxulsxsnZF9zaRf9Gh37tj8/edit#gid=0

Is it possible to do this?

Answer 1

First of all, to double check, when you say you go to crosstabs, is this Analyze > Multiple Response > Crosstabs (and not Analyze > Descriptive Statistics > Crosstabs)?

Second, with multiple response data, you are much better off working with Custom Tables. Start by defining the set with Analyze > Custom Tables > Multiple Response Sets. If you save your data file, those definitions are saved with it (unlike the Mult Response Procedure).

Then you can just use Custom Tables to tabulate mult response data pretty much as if it were a regular variable, but you have more choices about appropriate statistics, tests of significance etc. No need in the CTABLES code to explicitly list the set members.

Answer 2

Try CUSTOM TABLES, although this is an additional add-on modules that you need to have a licence for:

CTABLES /TABLE Generation[c] by (1_a+ 1_b + 1_c)[s][sum f8.0 'Count'].