What’s New in SPSS Statistics v27?

BASE EDITION CHANGES

SPSS Statistics v27 was launched in June 2020 with the biggest change compared to v26 being the inclusion of Data Preparation and Bootstrapping as standard functionality, as part of the SPSS Base module. This post will take a high-level look at these changes plus cover off the key enhancements in v27.

Data Preparation 

This allows users to streamline Data Validation and eliminate manual checks. This means that you can easily identify suspicious or invalid cases, variables and data values. Additionally, v27 allows you to view patterns of missing data, summarise variable distributions, and more accurately work with algorithms designed for nominal attributes.

Bootstrapping 

This estimates the sampling distribution of an estimator by resampling with replacement from the original sample.

• A use case, as an example: When the data sample is relatively small, and the sampling distribution is not known (for example: not a normal distribution.)

Version 27 also includes key enhancements to statistical analysis:

NEW STATISTICS:

Power Analysis:

• Valuable to study preparation and study design process
• Can define optimal sample size to yield statistically significant results
• “How many participants?”
• “Given limited budget, what should be my minimum sample size?”

Cohen’s Weighted Kappa:

• Summarise inter-rater agreement on an ordinal scale
• Use weighting schemes to describe the closeness of agreement between raters

PROCEDURAL ENHANCEMENTS:

Effect sizes:

• Effect size estimates and confidence intervals for T-TEST and ONEWAY procedures, including Cohen’s, Hedges’, and Glass’ measures for t-tests, and eta-squared, epsilon-squared, and omega-squared measures for contrasts and omnibus tests in one-way ANOVA

Quantile Regression:

UI improvements to simplify quartile grid entries when specifying many values

MATRIX Commands:

• The BETA cumulative distribution function is now supported
• Probability density functions are now supported
• Tail probability functions are now supported
• Random variable functions are now supported

EVERYDAY USABILITY IMPROVEMENTS:

Global Search – the ‘search’ feature has been updated to provide results that include:

• Menu dialogs
• Help topics
• Case studies
• Syntax reference 

Auto-Recovery feature:

• Unsaved user sessions saved locally
• SPSS detects unexpected shutdowns, prompts users with options to Auto-Recover Sessions

New Bubble Chart functionality in the Chart Builder:

• Bubble charts display categories in groups as non-hierarchical packed circles. The size of each circle (bubble) is proportional to its value. Bubble charts are useful for comparing relationships in data.

Format Charts using pre-built chart templates:

• Simplify formatting effort

Output editing enhancements:

• Simplified chart editing and usability

High resolution output export:

• Production Ready Postscript (.eps) output for graphics export

OTHER ENHANCEMENTS:

Welcome Screen Enhancements:

• Internet enabled; periodic updates with new information and content

MacOS Native Dialog:

• Native OS experience

Ships with latest Python 3.8.2:

• SPSS Statistics extensions have been updated
• Python 2 is not installed by default (security issues)
• User must define custom path for Python 2 to run old code

Backend updates

• Modernisation, bug fixes and improvements

SPSS AMOS 27 Functionality Improvements:

• Powerful Structural Equation Modelling
• AMOS 27 supports model export to Bayesian modelling program Stan

Version 1’s experienced consultants are on hand to help you understand your SPSS needs – from consultancy and training to finding the best software and license type for your analytical and usage requirements. Contact us to discuss your requirement and identify the best SPSS solution for you.