Running a Scatterplot Matrix

This Tech Tip shows how to run a scatterplot matrix. In IBM SPSS Statistics, you can work inside a single, integrated interface to run descriptive statistics, regression, advanced statistics, and machine learning models. You can create publication-ready charts, tables, and decision trees in one tool. IBM SPSS Statistics is easy to use, provides analysis automation, comprehensive statistical tools, integration with open source, and help at your fingertips.  

A scatterplot matrix is a handy tool for examining relationships between scale variables. For example, if users run linear regression, they will want to explore the relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variable so that they can investigate associations and whether there are linear relationships and outliers. Further, users will want to examine the relationships between independent variables to initially spot those variables that are highly correlated.

Users can go to the Graphs menu to run a scatterplot matrix and select Graphboard Template Chooser. The Graphboard Template Chooser is an alternative to the Chart Builder option. In the Graphboard Template Chooser, users select the variables they are interested in, and SPSS provides chart options. In the dialog box, users select scale variables, and a selection of graphs will appear, including the Scatterplot matrix. Once this graph is selected, users can click OK and run the scatterplot.

The scatterplot shows the relationships between all variables, which makes it a very useful tool for data understanding. It is also easy to copy and export this graph. To copy the graph, users can simply right-click on it and select Copy. To export, users can right-click the graph or highlight it in the output list and choose Export.