Two political scientists at the University of Chicago first introduced the Statistical Package for the Social Science or SPSS in 1968. Today, it is the most popular statistical analysis program worldwide in social science. Many research sectors including, health, marketing, surveys, education etc., use SPSS for analysis, data management, and data documentation.

The SPSS produces descriptive statistics, Bivariate statistics, prediction for identifying groups and numerical outcomes. Its prediction for identifying groups include cluster analysis, discriminant and factor analysis. You can access most features of factor Analysis SPSS with its pull-down menus. Nevertheless, you have to program more tasks in 4GL command syntax language that is an attached program with SPSS. The 4GL programming can achieve simplification of consequent tasks and complex data management. The program so entered can be integrated or automated with the Production Job Facility, another distinguished feature of 4GL.

Factor analysis SPSS can be done in two ways, and they are windows or dialogue boxes and syntax. When you use windows, or dialogue boxes, you have to locate factor procedure with the menu's pull downs 'Analyze > Data Reduction > Factor'. Then you have to select the variables that you have to factor analyze. To do that you have to "select all" of the left hand box and then press top middle button to get them into the 'variable' box. Then, there is 'selection variable' field where you have to group variables for factor analyzing SPSS. There is also the 'value' box to identify the nominal scale figures under categories.

You can store all the log syntax of prior analyses by clicking on the 'paste' button. When you press the paste button, it generates syntax and connected options of the present analyses. There are many other options in the dialogue boxes. Under the descriptive dialogue box you get univariate descriptives, initial solution, coefficients, significance values, determinant, inverse, reproduced, anti image, extraction and under the Extraction box, you get method where you can drag out options 'under analyze, un-rotated factor solution, scree pot etc. Then there is rotation box where you get rotation options, none, varimax, quartimax, equamax, direct oblimin, and promax. The dialogue box 'scores' has options 'save as variables' under which you can get factors in three methods called regression, Bartlett, and Anderson-Rubin.

Finally there is the 'options' box where you get facilities to get missing values, 'sorting in accordance with sizes' and 'suppress absolute values less than' options. You can get all images of SPSS dialogue box on the Internet. Further, you can download free lessons as well.