Guide to encoding Google Form data for SPSS

Turn text answers into numbers, give every variable a valid SPSS name and split multiple-choice questions — one Excel file that opens straight in SPSS.

Step 1 — Paste the links

Collection form link (Google Form) — required.
Spreadsheet data link (Google Sheets) — optional. If you add one, share the sheet as “Anyone with the link” · Viewer.

Step 2 — Read the form and review the codebook

Click Read form & encode. The AI assistant reads every question and builds a variable codebook with the original question, the SPSS variable name, the label, the question type and how each answer maps to a number.

Question type	How it’s coded
Single choice, scale	One numeric code per answer, e.g. “Strongly agree” → 5.
Multiple choice (checkboxes)	Split into 0/1 variables, one per option.
Text, number, date/time	Kept as is.

Step 3 — Download the Excel file

With a sheet link → ⬇ Download encoded data (Excel): a data sheet converted to numbers, plus a Codebook sheet.
Without a sheet link → ⬇ Download SPSS data-entry template (Excel): a header row of SPSS variable names for you to fill in, plus the Codebook.
Each download is charged according to the Pricing; you’re charged only when the file is created successfully.

Import into SPSS

Open the Excel file in SPSS with File → Import Data → Excel, choose the data sheet and keep the first row as variable names.

Does reading the form and viewing the codebook cost credits?

No. Only downloading the Excel file is charged.

Why can’t the tool read my Google Sheet?

The sheet must be shared with “Anyone with the link” as Viewer, and it must be the response sheet of that same form.

Open the encoding toolSign-in required.Preparing input data in SPSS (in Vietnamese)Coding, naming variables and adding labels.