SPSS Statistics

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

Hi @Mark Sloan

What version of IBM SPSS Statistics and which procedure are you copying output?
For me, IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0 (20) copies and pastes the same DESCRIPTIVES pivot table output  the same way in Output Viewer and in Workbook; on Windows and on macOS.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 10:17 AM
From: Mark Sloan
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

------------------------------
Mark Sloan
------------------------------

I am using SPSS 29.0.1 remotely from a university server (Georgia Tech), and the procedure is MIXED syntax, in the Workbook environment.  I am finding some similar cut and paste issues in SPSS 27.0.0 (64-bit) (classic only), where I must use the right-click menu copy because the keyboard Ctrl+C doesn't work.  This leads me to another issue, where MIXED converges in SPSS 27.0.0, but does not in SPSS 29.0.1. Most of the results are the same with convergence or not, but with a few differences, such as the denominator df showing different values (matching a textbook) in SPSS 27, but all show the same value in SPSS 29 (not matching the textbook). I'm a bit concerned with SPSS 29 at this point, as I would like to confidently use it moving forward.

------------------------------
Mark Sloan

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 05:03 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

Hi @Mark Sloan

What version of IBM SPSS Statistics and which procedure are you copying output?
For me, IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0 (20) copies and pastes the same DESCRIPTIVES pivot table output  the same way in Output Viewer and in Workbook; on Windows and on macOS.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 10:17 AM
From: Mark Sloan
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

------------------------------
Mark Sloan
------------------------------

Hi Mark,

Thank you for providing such a detailed description of your experience with SPSS 29.0.1 and the differences you've encountered compared to SPSS 27.0.0. It sounds like you've been dealing with some challenges, particularly regarding convergence and discrepancies in results between the two versions.

To assist you better, could you kindly share the syntax and/or data you've been working with in SPSS 29.0.1? Having access to this information will allow me to investigate the issue further and provide you with more targeted assistance. Additionally, if there are any specific analyses or tasks you're attempting to perform with SPSS 29.0.1, please feel free to share those as well.

Thank you once again for reaching out, and I look forward to assisting you further.

I am using SPSS 29.0.1 remotely from a university server (Georgia Tech), and the procedure is MIXED syntax, in the Workbook environment.  I am finding some similar cut and paste issues in SPSS 27.0.0 (64-bit) (classic only), where I must use the right-click menu copy because the keyboard Ctrl+C doesn't work.  This leads me to another issue, where MIXED converges in SPSS 27.0.0, but does not in SPSS 29.0.1. Most of the results are the same with convergence or not, but with a few differences, such as the denominator df showing different values (matching a textbook) in SPSS 27, but all show the same value in SPSS 29 (not matching the textbook). I'm a bit concerned with SPSS 29 at this point, as I would like to confidently use it moving forward.

------------------------------
Mark Sloan

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 05:03 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

Hi @Mark Sloan

What version of IBM SPSS Statistics and which procedure are you copying output?
For me, IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0 (20) copies and pastes the same DESCRIPTIVES pivot table output  the same way in Output Viewer and in Workbook; on Windows and on macOS.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 10:17 AM
From: Mark Sloan
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

------------------------------
Mark Sloan
------------------------------

Aruna,  Thank you for getting back to me.  I've attached the data file and below is the syntax that converges in SPSS 27, but does not converge in SPSS 29 (I do get a Hessian Matrix warning in both).  I really want to use SPSS 29 for its Workbook feature, but need to ensure convergence in version 29 is comparable to version 27.  Note the spaces in the syntax below are due to an automated input system I've developed in Excel -- SPSS doesn't seem to have a problem with it:

TITLE '     TWO-LEVEL RANDOM COEFFICIENTS (SLOPE) MODEL for Garson lq2002.sav    '.                            
MIXED    HOSTILE    WITH    TSIG    GTSIG    LEAD                
  /CRITERIA=DFMETHOD(        Satterthwaite    ) CIN(95)     MXITER(    100    ) MXSTEP(    10    ) SCORING(1)     
SINGULAR(    0.000000000001    ) HCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE)                     
LCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE) PCONVERGE(        0.000001    , ABSOLUTE)                
  /FIXED=    TSIG    GTSIG    LEAD         | SSTYPE(3)                
  /METHOD=    ML                                
  /PRINT=HISTORY(1) SOLUTION TESTCOV                                    
  /RANDOM=INTERCEPT         TSIG    | SUBJECT(    COMPID    ) COVTYPE(    VC    ).        

Hi Mark,

Thank you for providing such a detailed description of your experience with SPSS 29.0.1 and the differences you've encountered compared to SPSS 27.0.0. It sounds like you've been dealing with some challenges, particularly regarding convergence and discrepancies in results between the two versions.

To assist you better, could you kindly share the syntax and/or data you've been working with in SPSS 29.0.1? Having access to this information will allow me to investigate the issue further and provide you with more targeted assistance. Additionally, if there are any specific analyses or tasks you're attempting to perform with SPSS 29.0.1, please feel free to share those as well.

Thank you once again for reaching out, and I look forward to assisting you further.

I am using SPSS 29.0.1 remotely from a university server (Georgia Tech), and the procedure is MIXED syntax, in the Workbook environment.  I am finding some similar cut and paste issues in SPSS 27.0.0 (64-bit) (classic only), where I must use the right-click menu copy because the keyboard Ctrl+C doesn't work.  This leads me to another issue, where MIXED converges in SPSS 27.0.0, but does not in SPSS 29.0.1. Most of the results are the same with convergence or not, but with a few differences, such as the denominator df showing different values (matching a textbook) in SPSS 27, but all show the same value in SPSS 29 (not matching the textbook). I'm a bit concerned with SPSS 29 at this point, as I would like to confidently use it moving forward.

------------------------------
Mark Sloan

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 05:03 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

Hi @Mark Sloan

What version of IBM SPSS Statistics and which procedure are you copying output?
For me, IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0 (20) copies and pastes the same DESCRIPTIVES pivot table output  the same way in Output Viewer and in Workbook; on Windows and on macOS.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 10:17 AM
From: Mark Sloan
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

------------------------------
Mark Sloan
------------------------------

Hi Mark,

Thanks for sharing your syntax! I've reviewed it and have a couple of questions that might help us troubleshoot the convergence issue.

1. Have you had a chance to try this syntax with other datasets? Understanding how it performs with different data can provide further insights.

2. Collinearity between independent variables is a possibility we can explore. This occurs when independent variables are highly correlated. In mixed models with random effects, collinearity can lead to redundant covariance parameters, making it difficult for the model to estimate them accurately. Would you be able to check the correlations between your independent variables? High correlations (above 0.8 or 0.9) might indicate collinearity.

To help investigate this further, I've included the same code modified for a different dataset below:

TITLE '     TWO-LEVEL RANDOM COEFFICIENTS (SLOPE) MODEL for bankloan.sav    '.                            
MIXED    default   WITH    debtinc   othdebt    income                
  /CRITERIA=DFMETHOD(        SATTERTHWAITE    ) CIN(95)     MXITER(    100   ) MXSTEP(    10    ) SCORING(1)     
SINGULAR(    0.000000000001    ) HCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE)                     
LCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE) PCONVERGE(        0.000001    , ABSOLUTE)                
  /FIXED=    debtinc   othdebt    income         | SSTYPE(3)                
  /METHOD=    ML                                
  /PRINT=HISTORY(1) SOLUTION TESTCOV                                    
  /RANDOM= INTERCEPT othdebt    | SUBJECT(    employ    )COVTYPE(VC) .    

Please let me know if you have any questions about collinearity or if you'd like to explore other possibilities. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

Best regards,

Aruna,  Thank you for getting back to me.  I've attached the data file and below is the syntax that converges in SPSS 27, but does not converge in SPSS 29 (I do get a Hessian Matrix warning in both).  I really want to use SPSS 29 for its Workbook feature, but need to ensure convergence in version 29 is comparable to version 27.  Note the spaces in the syntax below are due to an automated input system I've developed in Excel -- SPSS doesn't seem to have a problem with it:

TITLE '     TWO-LEVEL RANDOM COEFFICIENTS (SLOPE) MODEL for Garson lq2002.sav    '.                            
MIXED    HOSTILE    WITH    TSIG    GTSIG    LEAD                
  /CRITERIA=DFMETHOD(        Satterthwaite    ) CIN(95)     MXITER(    100    ) MXSTEP(    10    ) SCORING(1)     
SINGULAR(    0.000000000001    ) HCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE)                     
LCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE) PCONVERGE(        0.000001    , ABSOLUTE)                
  /FIXED=    TSIG    GTSIG    LEAD         | SSTYPE(3)                
  /METHOD=    ML                                
  /PRINT=HISTORY(1) SOLUTION TESTCOV                                    
  /RANDOM=INTERCEPT         TSIG    | SUBJECT(    COMPID    ) COVTYPE(    VC    ).        

Hi Mark,

Thank you for providing such a detailed description of your experience with SPSS 29.0.1 and the differences you've encountered compared to SPSS 27.0.0. It sounds like you've been dealing with some challenges, particularly regarding convergence and discrepancies in results between the two versions.

To assist you better, could you kindly share the syntax and/or data you've been working with in SPSS 29.0.1? Having access to this information will allow me to investigate the issue further and provide you with more targeted assistance. Additionally, if there are any specific analyses or tasks you're attempting to perform with SPSS 29.0.1, please feel free to share those as well.

Thank you once again for reaching out, and I look forward to assisting you further.

I am using SPSS 29.0.1 remotely from a university server (Georgia Tech), and the procedure is MIXED syntax, in the Workbook environment.  I am finding some similar cut and paste issues in SPSS 27.0.0 (64-bit) (classic only), where I must use the right-click menu copy because the keyboard Ctrl+C doesn't work.  This leads me to another issue, where MIXED converges in SPSS 27.0.0, but does not in SPSS 29.0.1. Most of the results are the same with convergence or not, but with a few differences, such as the denominator df showing different values (matching a textbook) in SPSS 27, but all show the same value in SPSS 29 (not matching the textbook). I'm a bit concerned with SPSS 29 at this point, as I would like to confidently use it moving forward.

------------------------------
Mark Sloan

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 05:03 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

Hi @Mark Sloan

What version of IBM SPSS Statistics and which procedure are you copying output?
For me, IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0 (20) copies and pastes the same DESCRIPTIVES pivot table output  the same way in Output Viewer and in Workbook; on Windows and on macOS.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 10:17 AM
From: Mark Sloan
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

------------------------------
Mark Sloan
------------------------------

Hi Mark,

Thanks for sharing your syntax! I've reviewed it and have a couple of questions that might help us troubleshoot the convergence issue.

1. Have you had a chance to try this syntax with other datasets? Understanding how it performs with different data can provide further insights.

2. Collinearity between independent variables is a possibility we can explore. This occurs when independent variables are highly correlated. In mixed models with random effects, collinearity can lead to redundant covariance parameters, making it difficult for the model to estimate them accurately. Would you be able to check the correlations between your independent variables? High correlations (above 0.8 or 0.9) might indicate collinearity.

To help investigate this further, I've included the same code modified for a different dataset below:

TITLE '     TWO-LEVEL RANDOM COEFFICIENTS (SLOPE) MODEL for bankloan.sav    '.                            
MIXED    default   WITH    debtinc   othdebt    income                
  /CRITERIA=DFMETHOD(        SATTERTHWAITE    ) CIN(95)     MXITER(    100   ) MXSTEP(    10    ) SCORING(1)     
SINGULAR(    0.000000000001    ) HCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE)                     
LCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE) PCONVERGE(        0.000001    , ABSOLUTE)                
  /FIXED=    debtinc   othdebt    income         | SSTYPE(3)                
  /METHOD=    ML                                
  /PRINT=HISTORY(1) SOLUTION TESTCOV                                    
  /RANDOM= INTERCEPT othdebt    | SUBJECT(    employ    )COVTYPE(VC) .    

Please let me know if you have any questions about collinearity or if you'd like to explore other possibilities. I'm happy to help in any way I can.

Best regards,

Aruna,  Thank you for getting back to me.  I've attached the data file and below is the syntax that converges in SPSS 27, but does not converge in SPSS 29 (I do get a Hessian Matrix warning in both).  I really want to use SPSS 29 for its Workbook feature, but need to ensure convergence in version 29 is comparable to version 27.  Note the spaces in the syntax below are due to an automated input system I've developed in Excel -- SPSS doesn't seem to have a problem with it:

TITLE '     TWO-LEVEL RANDOM COEFFICIENTS (SLOPE) MODEL for Garson lq2002.sav    '.                            
MIXED    HOSTILE    WITH    TSIG    GTSIG    LEAD                
  /CRITERIA=DFMETHOD(        Satterthwaite    ) CIN(95)     MXITER(    100    ) MXSTEP(    10    ) SCORING(1)     
SINGULAR(    0.000000000001    ) HCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE)                     
LCONVERGE(    0    , ABSOLUTE) PCONVERGE(        0.000001    , ABSOLUTE)                
  /FIXED=    TSIG    GTSIG    LEAD         | SSTYPE(3)                
  /METHOD=    ML                                
  /PRINT=HISTORY(1) SOLUTION TESTCOV                                    
  /RANDOM=INTERCEPT         TSIG    | SUBJECT(    COMPID    ) COVTYPE(    VC    ).        

Hi Mark,

Thank you for providing such a detailed description of your experience with SPSS 29.0.1 and the differences you've encountered compared to SPSS 27.0.0. It sounds like you've been dealing with some challenges, particularly regarding convergence and discrepancies in results between the two versions.

To assist you better, could you kindly share the syntax and/or data you've been working with in SPSS 29.0.1? Having access to this information will allow me to investigate the issue further and provide you with more targeted assistance. Additionally, if there are any specific analyses or tasks you're attempting to perform with SPSS 29.0.1, please feel free to share those as well.

Thank you once again for reaching out, and I look forward to assisting you further.

I am using SPSS 29.0.1 remotely from a university server (Georgia Tech), and the procedure is MIXED syntax, in the Workbook environment.  I am finding some similar cut and paste issues in SPSS 27.0.0 (64-bit) (classic only), where I must use the right-click menu copy because the keyboard Ctrl+C doesn't work.  This leads me to another issue, where MIXED converges in SPSS 27.0.0, but does not in SPSS 29.0.1. Most of the results are the same with convergence or not, but with a few differences, such as the denominator df showing different values (matching a textbook) in SPSS 27, but all show the same value in SPSS 29 (not matching the textbook). I'm a bit concerned with SPSS 29 at this point, as I would like to confidently use it moving forward.

------------------------------
Mark Sloan

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 05:03 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

Hi @Mark Sloan

What version of IBM SPSS Statistics and which procedure are you copying output?
For me, IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0 (20) copies and pastes the same DESCRIPTIVES pivot table output  the same way in Output Viewer and in Workbook; on Windows and on macOS.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 26, 2024 10:17 AM
From: Mark Sloan
Subject: Copy & Paste Bug in SPSS Workbooks

I believe I may have discovered a bug in the SPSS Workbooks option.  In the classic environment, once a procedure is run, you can use the keyboard Ctrl+C to copy and then paste the results into Excel for further calculations.  When doing the same thing in the Workbook environment, the keyboard Ctrl+C action does not copy over to Excel.  Instead, you have to [Right-click] Copy As > Plain Text.  This is not practical when running many models, and need to use the workbook option to help manage heavy use of SPSS.  Is this a true bug, and if not, is there a way while working in the Workbook environment, to use the keyboard Ctrl+C action to more quickly copy plain text results into Excel for further processing?

------------------------------
Mark Sloan
------------------------------