CTABLES Scalar Variable Basics (PSPP)

15.7.1.2 Scalar Variables

For a categorical variable, CTABLES divides the table into a cell per category. For a scalar variable, CTABLES instead calculates a summary measure, by default the mean, of the values that fall into a cell. For example, if the only variable specified is a scalar variable, then the output is a single cell that holds the mean of all of the data:

CTABLES /TABLE qnd1.

Custom Tables
	Mean
D1. AGE: What is your age?	48

A scalar variable may nest with categorical variables. The following example shows the mean age of survey respondents across gender and language groups:

CTABLES /TABLE qns3a > qnd1 BY region.

Custom Tables
			Was this interview conducted in English or Spanish?
			English	Spanish
			Mean	Mean
D1. AGE: What is your age?	S3a. GENDER:	Male	46	37
D1. AGE: What is your age?	S3a. GENDER:	Female	51	39

The order of nesting of scalar and categorical variables affects table labeling, but it does not affect the data displayed in the table. The following example shows how the output changes when the nesting order of the scalar and categorical variable are interchanged:

CTABLES /TABLE qnd1 > qns3a BY region.

Custom Tables
			Was this interview conducted in English or Spanish?
			English	Spanish
			Mean	Mean
S3a. GENDER:	Male	D1. AGE: What is your age?	46	37
S3a. GENDER:	Female	D1. AGE: What is your age?	51	39

Only a single scalar variable may appear in each section; that is, a scalar variable may not nest inside a scalar variable directly or indirectly. Scalar variables may only appear on one axis within TABLE.