Reading delimited text data files

Here is a snapshot of a portion of a comma-delimited text file:

A delimiter is a character such as a comma that serves as a separator between elements across a line of data. A text file is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines of electronic text, often using the ASCII character set. Such a file is easily viewed in Windows accessories such as Notepad. Note that row 1 of the comma-delimited text file is a header row containing variable names for the columns.

IBM SPSS Statistics can directly read a delimited text file. There are different implementations in different recent releases of IBM SPSS Statistics, but the capability exists on the File menu. In IBM SPSS Statistics 24, use the following path:

File | Import Data

Here is the Read CSV File dialog box:

The Read CSV File dialog box shows the name of the file and a literal listing of what it reads from the first lines of the source file.
By default, IBM SPSS Statistics expects to find variable names in the first row of data--the checkbox for First line contains variable names is checked by default. Additional checkboxes exist as well as drop bars to specify the delimiter character, Decimal Symbol, and Text Qualifier. An Advanced Options button invokes a Text Wizard with additional capability to read text files formatted in a variety of ways. Here, the default settings shown in the Read CSV File dialog box will work for the delimited text file we are analyzing. Finally, click on OK to read the file, or click on Paste to paste the constructed syntax to the syntax window.

Here is the pasted syntax (IBM SPSS Statistics version 24):

PRESERVE.
SET DECIMAL DOT.
GET DATA  /TYPE=TXT
  /FILE="C:\Users\Tony\Documents\KSBSPSSBOOK_DATA\chapter2\gss2014\gss2014extract.csv"
  /ENCODING='UTF8'
  /DELIMITERS=","
  /QUALIFIER='"'
  /ARRANGEMENT=DELIMITED
  /FIRSTCASE=2
  /DATATYPEMIN PERCENTAGE=95.0
  /VARIABLES=
  ID AUTO
  MARITAL AUTO
  AGE AUTO
  HAPPY AUTO
  sex AUTO
  /MAP.
RESTORE.
CACHE.
EXECUTE.
DATASET NAME DataSet1 WINDOW=FRONT.

The subcommands have a close correspondence with the dialog box settings in the Read CSV File dialog box. The /TYPE, /ARRANGEMENT, and /DELIMITERS subcommands establish that the source file is a comma-delimited text file.

Running the syntax populates an IBM SPSS Statistics Data Editor window with the data.