Date:         Mon, 10 Feb 1997 12:32:55 -0500
Reply-To:     "S. Mings" <mingss@RPI.EDU>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         "S. Mings" <mingss@RPI.EDU>
Subject:      conditionally computing totals
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hello,
 
I"m having trouble figuring out how to do this in SPSS for Windows 7.0, tho
it seems like it should be easy, and I'm embarrassed to ask, but really need
& appreciate any help.  Here's my problem:
 
I want to total TIME spent on a screen by SUBJECT of the screen.  I have up
to eighty TIME and SUBJECT entries (80 screens viewed) for 15 people.  I
have about 40 possible (screen) SUBJECTS.  TIME and SUBJECT entries are
coded as TIME1 (numeric, number of seconds spent on the first screen),
SUBJECT1 (string, 2-4 character code for subject of the first screen), TIME2
(time spent on the second screen), SUBJECT2 (subject of second screen), etc.
 
I want to total the TIME spent on each SUBJECT.  As an example, I want to
know how much TIME a person spent on ADVERTISING (AD) screens.  So I want to
compute a new variable, ADTIME, which will be the SUM of any TIME entries
where the corresponding SUBJECT value is AD.  Specifically, if SUBJECT1
value = 'AD', I want to include the value of TIME1 in my ADTIME summary; if
SUBJECT2 value = 'AD', I also want to include TIME2 in the ADTIME summary;
if SUBJECT3 = not AD, I want to skip TIME3; etc.
 
I have been messing w/the COMPUTE dialog box and the syntax editor all
morning and can't manage to construct a COMPUTE command that does this.  Can
anyone help?
 
Many thanks.
 
*****************************************************
S. Mings
Computer-Mediated Communication
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
mingss@rpi.edu