Getting started
StatLab works like a desktop statistics package in your browser: put data in the Data View, describe each variable in the Variable View, choose a procedure from Analyze, then read, copy or export the output. Nothing is uploaded.
What are the five steps of an analysis?
- Get data in. File → Open data file (CSV, Excel, SPSS .sav), type it into the Data View, or File → Sample dataset to practise. The first row of a CSV/Excel sheet must hold the variable names.
- Define variables. In Variable View give each variable a label, value labels (e.g. 1 = Male, 2 = Female), user-missing codes (e.g. 9 = no answer) and the right measure (scale, ordinal, nominal). Analyses use these everywhere.
- Prepare. Transform → Compute (e.g. a mean score), Recode (e.g. age groups), Data → Select cases (filter) or Sort.
- Analyse. Choose a procedure from Analyze or Graphs. Each dialog has a ? button that opens its page in this guide. Not sure which test? See Choosing a test.
- Read and share. Output shows SPSS-style tables plus an APA-style summary. Copy a table straight into Word or Excel, export everything to HTML or PDF, and save the project.
What does the screen show?
- Data View — one row per case, one column per variable. Click a cell and type; Enter moves down. Struck-through row numbers are filtered out.
- Variable View — one row per variable with its metadata.
- Output — results, newest at the bottom, with an outline on the left.
- Syntax log — every step as a readable command you can re-run.
How do the dialogs work?
The variable list is on the left. Click a variable (Ctrl/Shift-click or tap several on a tablet) and press the ▶ arrow next to the box it belongs in; ◀ moves it back. Double-clicking moves a variable to the first box that accepts it. Icons show the measure: # scale, ≡ ordinal, ◆ nominal, a text. Buttons on the right (Statistics…, Options…, Plots…, Post Hoc…) open sub-dialogs; press Continue to return. Paste writes the command into the Syntax editor instead of running it, Reset clears the dialog.
Try it in two minutes
Open File → Sample dataset, then Analyze → Compare Means → Independent-Samples T Test…. Move score into Test Variable(s) and gender into Grouping Variable, and press OK.