USING SPSS FOR WINDOWS TO ENHANCE, NOT OVERWHELM, COURSE CONTENT

The recent introduction of SPSS for Windows allows for data analysis t o be employed in substantive courses as well as methods courses. Data analysis using SPSS for Windows complements the otherwise typical acti vities (paper writing, class presentations) of a substantive course. T his article focuses on its use in upper-division sociology classes whe re substantive themes are developed in some depth. Specifically, I wil l discuss how a few SPSS exercises can help organize students' ideas b y testing them, and how presentation of numerical results and graphs c an greatly enhance an undergraduate term paper.