This chapter is part of a larger Collection (Book) and is available at: Calculating Basic Statistical Procedures in SPSS: A Self-Help and Practical Guide to Preparing Theses, Dissertations, and Manuscripts
Summary: Calculating a Nonparametric Pearson Chi-Square is Chapter 2 of Calculating Basic Statistical Procedures in SPSS: A Self-Help and Practical Guide to Preparing Theses, Dissertations, and Manuscripts authored by John R. Slate and Ana Rojas-LeBouef from Sam Houston State University. This book is written to assist graduate students and faculty members, as well as undergraduate students, in their use of the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences-PC (SPSS-PC) versions 15-19. Specifically, we have generated a set of steps and screenshots to depict each important step in conducting basic statistical analyses. We believe that this book supplements existing statistical texts in which readers are informed about the statistical underpinnings of basic statistical procedures and in which definitions of terms are provided. Accordingly, other than providing a few basic definitions, we assume that dissertation chairs/thesis directors, students, and/or faculty will obtain their own definition of terms. We hope you find this set of steps and screenshots to be helpful as you use SPSS-PC in conducting basic statistical analyses.

This chapter is part of a larger Collection (Book) and is available at: Calculating Basic Statistical Procedures in SPSS: A Self-Help and Practical Guide to Preparing Theses, Dissertations, and Manuscripts
In this set of steps, readers are provided with directions on calculating a statistical procedure in which the independent variable and the dependent variable are categorical variables. As such, the only descriptive statistics that can be obtained are frequencies, percentages, and sums. Because the data on which this chi-square procedure is used are grouped data, skewness and kurtosis values are not appropriate. Readers should ensure that the assumptions described in the steps below are met prior to conducting this nonparametric procedure. For more detailed information about the statistical and conceptual underpinnings of this statistical technique, readers are referred to the Hyperstats Online Statistics Textbook at http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/chi_square.html or to the Electronic Statistics Textbook (2011) at http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/basic-statistics/
Check to make sure that both variables are categorical in nature. That is, the variables must have values that are in a restricted range (e.g., 1 or 2 for gender; 1 – 5 for Strongly Agree through Strongly Disagree; 1 – 5 for ethnicity categories).
Check to verify that you have available per cell at least 5 responses (i.e., divide the sample size by the number of cells [number of categories for the IV times the number of categories for the DV] and have a value of at least 5).
Verify that only one response per participant is present. Once these assumptions have been checked and validated, then the Pearson chi-square procedure can be calculated.
| Value | df | Asymp.Sig.(2-sided) | |
| Pearson Chi-Square | 833.549a | 118 | .000 |
| Likelihood Ratio | 907.609 | 118 | .000 |
| Linear-by-Linear | 16.845 | 1 | .000 |
| Association | |||
| N of Valid Cases | 1182 |
a. 81 cells (45.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .23.
| Value | Approx Sig. | |
| Nominal by Phi | .840 | .000 |
| Nominal Cramer's V | .94 | .000 |
| N of Valid Cases | 1182 |
So, how do you "write up" your Research Questions and your Results? Schuler W. Huck (2000) in his seminal book entitled, Reading Statistics and Research, points to the importance of your audience understanding and making sense of your research in written form. Huck further states:
This book is designed to help people decipher what researchers are trying to communicate in the written or oral summaries of their investigations. Here, the goal is simply to distill meaning from the words, symbols, tables, and figures included in the research report. To be competent in this arena, one must not only be able to decipher what's presented but also to "fill in the holes"; this is the case because researchers typically assume that those receiving the research report are familiar with unmentioned details of the research process and statistical treatment of data.
Researchers and Professors John Slate and Ana Rojas-LeBouef understand this critical issue, so often neglected or not addressed by other authors and researchers. They point to the importance of doctoral students "writing up their statistics" in a way that others can understand your reporting and as importantly, interpret the meaning of your significant findings and implications for the preparation and practice of educational leadership. Slate and LeBouef provide you with a model for "writing up your Chi-square statistics."
Click here to view: Writing Up Your Chi-square Staistics