FAQ/MeanSum62013-03-08 10:17:57localhostconverted to 1.6 markup52007-01-25 16:03:26PeterWatson42006-08-21 15:40:24PeterWatson32006-08-21 15:40:01PeterWatson22006-08-21 15:39:41PeterWatson12006-08-21 15:39:02PeterWatsonSubtracting a constant from the meanSuppose we add a constant term,c, to each of N variables, A, B, C, …, N say, and wish to compute the variable mean. We can so this in SPSS using the syntax in the box This uses the compute statement and the mean function MEAN(A,B,…N) to obtain MEAN(A+c,B+c,…..N+c). This saves time creating new variables by using the original metrics.The RHS in the above box may be, alternatively, input into the compute window by choosing analyze:compute in the menu. Variances are not effected by addition of a constant term.