Two ways of importing data to Amos

To work with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) test in Amos, the first step is to import data to Amos. The previous article explained the terminologies of the SEM test. This article explains the procedures for importing data to Amos. A dataset can be imported to Amos in two ways.

Opening Amos application from SPSS

The first step is importing the dataset into the SPSS spreadsheet, and then loading it in Amos. After doing so, the below window should appear in SPSS.

After this, click on ‘Analyze’ and then ‘IBM SPSS Amos’ to open Amos.

Once Amos opens, a new graphics file will open as shown below.

After this, save the file by clicking on ‘Save’ under ‘File’. Select the desired location, enter the file name and then click on ‘Save’ for saving the document.

View the list of imported variables in Amos

By clicking on the icon, the imported variables list can be viewed, as shown in the image below.

Now that the dataset has been successfully imported path analysis, SEM analysis and other tests can be performed on Amos.

Importing data to Amos directly

The other and most commonly used method is to import data to Amos by using the application’s import function. For this, first, open the Amos graphics application.

Next, save the Amos graphics.

 Click on it to select the data file icon. The below window will appear.

On this window, click on the file name to specify the data file name. The ‘View Data’ option launches the external data file application such as MS Excel or SPSS file.

For example; to know the name of a data file and to select by using the file name, then use the ‘View Data’ option to cross-check the content of that data file as Amos launches the original data file. The ‘Grouping variable’ option allows to specifically mention the variable responsible for grouping in the database. This eases model testing and enables easy set up of the model in the case of multiple groups presence.

Amos allows accessing different file formats like:

• MS Access
• dbase 3-5
• Microsoft Excel 3, 4, 5, and 8
• Fox pro files 2.0, 2.5, and 2.6
• lotus wk1, wk3, and wk4
• spss .sav files

The below window appears when ‘File Name’ is clicked. Select the file which to import and click on ‘Open’.

The below window will appear.

In this window, ‘N’ represents the number of observations present in the selected file, which is 200 in this case. Once the file is loaded click on ‘OK’ for final importing. With this, the entire dataset is successfully loaded. Now formulate a model in Amos using different tests.