Definition: SPSS

A statistical package from SPSS Inc., Chicago that runs on PCs, most mainframes and minis and is used extensively in marketing research. It provides over 50 statistical processes, including regression analysis, correlation and analysis of variance. Originally named Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, it was written in 1968 by Stanford doctoral candidate Norman Nie. In 1976, he formed SPSS, Inc. In 2009, SPSS Inc. was acquired by IBM.