How to Code, Encode and Analyze Multiple Response Items

Coding, encoding, and analyzing multiple response items in SPSS involves working with data where respondents can select more than one response option for a given question. Here are the steps, including an example table for visualization:

1. Prepare Data in Excel or SPSS

• Create a Data File:  Whether you start in Excel or SPSS, create a data file with one column for each response option. Each row corresponds to a respondent, and the cells in each row indicate whether a respondent selected a particular response option (usually coded as 1 for selected and 0 for not selected).

Here's an example table in Excel:

Respondent ID	Option A	Option B	Option C
1	1	0	1
2	0	1	1
3	1	0	0

In this example, three respondents were asked to choose from three options (Option A, Option B, Option C). A "1" indicates the option was selected, and a "0" indicates it was not.

2. Import Data into SPSS (if not already in SPSS)

• Save the Excel File: Save your Excel file with the multiple response data.
• Open SPSS: Launch SPSS and open a new data file.
• Import the Excel Data: Go to "File" > "Read Text Data" > "Excel." Browse and select your Excel file. Follow the import wizard to specify which sheet contains your data and set the data types correctly.
• Review Data in SPSS: After importing, check that your data has been loaded correctly into SPSS. Each column represents a variable (e.g., Respondent ID, Option A, Option B, Option C), and each row represents a case (respondent).

3. Analyze Multiple Response Data

• Determine Analysis Goals: Decide what you want to learn from the multiple response data. Common analyses include summarizing response frequencies, comparing response patterns, and identifying associations.
• Use Appropriate Analytical Tools: SPSS provides various tools for analyzing multiple response data, including:
• Frequencies: To calculate the frequency of each response option.
• Crosstabs: To analyze associations between response options (cross-tabulation).
• Charts and Graphs: To visualize response patterns.
• Run Analysis: Perform your chosen analysis using the appropriate SPSS procedures.
• Interpret Results: Examine the output to draw conclusions based on the multiple response data. For example, you can identify which options are most commonly selected, explore relationships between options, or segment respondents based on their response patterns.

Hopes this helps.