New fields can be created in SPSS using a variety of different methods. In Chapter 4, Dealing with Outliers and Missing Data, the SAVE subcommand on both the DESCRIPTIVES and REGRESSION commands resulted in the addition of fields to the original dataset. This same chapter contained an example of using a set of IF commands to create new fields that were designed to address specific missing value issues in the data. In this chapter, the commands available in SPSS for creating new fields will be demonstrated in detail.
Deriving new fields is central to the analytic process since this is how subject matter knowledge is incorporated into the predictive modeling. Ratios and differences of specific data elements, for example, can be very useful as predictors but do not typically exist in the source data.
The four most heavily used commands available on the...