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Frequently Asked Questions about SPSS Inc.

What does "SPSS" stand for?

The letters "SPSS" mean something different today than they did when the product was conceived. When SPSS was founded in 1968, SPSS Chairman of the Board Norman H. Nie collaborated with C. Hadlai (Tex) Hull and Dale Bent, two of his fellow Stanford University graduate students, and developed the first SPSS program. They named it "Statistical Package for the Social Sciences," or "SPSS." As the "package" has grown into a multinational product serving a wide variety of users and the business has evolved from its academic roots to becoming a leading enterprise analytical solutions provider today, we simply use the "SPSS Inc." for the company and "SPSS" for the original product.

I am interested in buying your products, but I can't find any pricing information. Where are the prices?

Because we are a worldwide organization with many software products, we offer a variety of pricing and licensing programs, including site licenses and network licenses. Factors such as exchange rate fluctuations, customs duties and partnering agreements affect local pricing and licensing programs. In addition, training and support programs vary by country. In order to reduce confusion, we do not list pricing programs on our site. To learn which local program best suits you, please contact your local SPSS office or distributor.

E-mail is fine, but I want to talk to a live person! What number do I call?

That's a tough one to answer with just one number. It depends on what you need. For starters, see Contact Us.

I have a suggestion for an SPSS product. Who should I contact?

We always like to hear suggestions, compliments and yes, even complaints, about our products. We base a great deal of our future product development on user input. Please send your suggestions or comments about products to suggest@us.ibm.com.

How can I keep up-to-date on what is happening at SPSS?

You can keep visiting our Web site, which changes all the time. Or you can join one of our e-mail newletter lists. SPSS Direct is distributed about once a month with product and general news, events and tips.

I am writing a book or research paper using SPSS products. How do I make bibliographic citations?

For most of our products, you can get the complete product name, version or release number and date of creation from the "About . . ." dialog box that appears under the "Help" menu. For example, if you have SPSS for Windows, you might see this:

SPSS for Windows
Release 11.0.1 (15 Nov 2001)

You can then write a bibliographic citation as follows:

SPSS for Windows, Rel. 11.0.1. 2001. Chicago: SPSS Inc.

If you are referencing material from our Web site, please refer to the terms and conditions on http://www.spss.com/terms.htm.

You do not need permission from SPSS Inc. to reference our products.

How can I learn about employment opportunities at SPSS?

Visit Employment@SPSS to learn about open positions, our company culture, benefits and more.