Creating a simple bar chart with
error bars in SPSS
Independent / Between subjects
Independent data bar chart
• Open SPSS
• Enter data
– Remember to use
a grouping
variable (e.g. Hand
in this example; 0
– left handed, 1 –
right handed) for
an independent
design
Independent data bar chart
Choose GRAPHS – CHART BUILDER
from menu bar
The reminder on the right will pop up
to remind you that you need to have
correctly defined the properties of
your variables (e.g. Measurement
scale)
Make sure that you have defined
these correctly
The grouping variable is a nominal
variable type
Independent data bar chart
• Drag the ‘simple bar’
chart type from the
Gallery onto the
Preview space
Independent data bar chart
You can edit the names of the x and y axis if
you want by clicking the axis in the ELEMENT
PROPERTIES box and typing over the ‘Axis
Label’
Independent data bar chart
• Click and drag
the grouping
variable (IV Handedness)
to the x axis
and the
measurement
variable (DV –
Time to
answer call) to
the y axis
Independent data bar chart
To add error bars:
Click on Bar 1 in the Element
Properties box
Tick ‘Display error bars’ and
select ‘Standard error’ setting
the multiplier to 1
Your graph will now show the
mean RT for the groups (mean
RT for left and right handed
telephone operators in this
example)
Independent data bar chart
Click OK on the Chart
Builder window and you
will be rewarded with a
nice simple graph that
you can copy and paste
into your report
You will need to give the
graph a caption using
APA style:
e.g. Figure 1. Mean
reaction times for left
and right handed phone
operators