Transcript Document

Computers,
computers!
It’s quicker to count
them by foot!
Dr Mark Abrams
(1906 –1994)
(Director, SSRC Survey Unit, 1970-76,
always kept a slide-rule on his desk)
He also said,
"Don’t get it right:
get it written!"
…and,
"If it’s worth saying, you
can say it in percentages."
Old Dog, Old Tricks
Using SPSS syntax to avoid the
mouse trap
In the blue corner:
(I believe in miracles…)
In the red corner:
(…and I just
♥
SPSS files)
..otherwise
known as
JFH
(…and they tell me I perform miracles)
…by changing this
i
(or its equivalent SPSS file)
…to this (et voilà!)
But first:
The Tools of Survey
Research
Old technology, but still best to start
…then you’ll need these!
Even older technology: best of all!
Engage brain before touching keyboard!
Once upon a time in Salford,
way back in 1965,
….lived a KDF9 computer which
worked, both for input and output,
on 8-hole paper tape
What does F mean in KDF9?
Legend has it that the KDF9 was developed as
project KD9 (Kidsgrove Development 9) and
that the 'F' in its designation was contributed
by the then Chairman.
After a long and tedious discussion on what to
name the machine at launch, he declared,
"I don't care if you call it the F.......".
8-hole paper tape
8-hole paper tape punch
Note: Can’t see what you’ve typed!!
There was also one of these:
Old technology - Salford University 1966
• Note extra-wide carriage to take foolscap paper sideways
• Copies by retyping or by carbon paper (not shown)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch:
80-column Hollerith card
IBM Key 026 card-punch machine
IBM Key 026 card-punch machine
IBM Card Sorter
Data Layout Sheet 1 (SSRC Survey Unit, 1971)
Data Layout Sheet 2 (SSRC Survey Unit, 1975)
Data and programs on Hollerith cards
• Everything had to be programmed in Fortran
• Survey processing programs required special
meaningful entries in specific columns, but
these were meaningless to social researchers
• Permission reluctantly granted for them to
use the nice computer in the Maths Dept
Once upon a time in America
…the boys got together
to make things easier
Norman Nie and Dale Bent
(political science postgrads at Stanford: late 1960s )
“ devised a language that a political
scientist would want to write to specify
an analysis.”
and hired Tex Hull to help with coding the program
( in Fortran IV for the IBM360 )
…and SPSS was:
Born in the USA
in 1968
Jean Jenkins replaced Dale Bent
…and SPSS came to UK in 1970
We brought SPSS to UK
• Tony Coxon
• David Muxworthy
Immediate impact of SPSS
(Statistical Package for the Social Sciences)
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Blue manual (Nie, Hull & Jenkins) sold in hundreds
Upset programmers because it was inefficient
Upset statisticians because it by-passed them
Upset environmentalists as forests disappeared
Sociologists loved it and it spread like wild-fire
Research is a
substitute for action
(Old UK public sector research proverb)
….and SPSS is a
substitute for thought!
(SSRC Survey Unit riposte)
Constraints on course design and
training materials
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Timetable slots available
Staff knowledge and experience
Major data sets in public domain
Lecture room facilities
Computing facilities (terminals, printers)
Students (prior skill, motivation, affordability)
Typing and reprographics (one side of A4)
One side of A4