Construct the MDM file for a HLM2 model using SPSS file input

Level-1 file:

For HS&B example data (distributed with the program), the level-1 file (hsb1.sav) has 7,185 cases and four variables (not including the SCHOOL ID). The variables are:

• MINORITY, an indicator for student ethnicity (1 = minority, 0 = other)
• FEMALE, an indicator for student gender (1 = female, 0 = male)
• SES, a standardized scale constructed from variables measuring parental education, occupation, and income
• MATHACH, a measure of mathematics achievement                

Data for the first ten cases in hsb1.sav are shown in the figure below. (Note: level-1 cases must be grouped together by their respective level-2 unit ID. To assure this, sort the level-1 file by the level-2 unit ID field prior to entering the data into HLM2.)

Level-2 file:

At level 2, the illustrative data set hsb2.sav consists of 160 schools with 6 variables per school. The variables are:

• SIZE, indicating the school enrollment
• SECTOR, where 1 = Catholic, 0 = public
• PRACAD denoting the proportion of students in the academic track
• DISCLIM, a scale measuring disciplinary climate
• HIMNTY indicating the level of minority enrollment: 1 = more than 40% minority enrollment, 0 = less than 40%
• MEANSES, which is the mean of the SES values for the students in this school who are included in the level-1 file

The data for the first ten schools are displayed in the figure below.

As mentioned earlier, the construction of an MDM file consists of three major steps. This will now be illustrated with the HS&B example.

To inform HLM of the input and MDM file type

At the WHLM window, open the File menu. Choose Make new MDM file…Stat package input.

A Select MDM type dialog box opens.

Select HLM2 and click OK. A Make MDM - HLM2 dialog box will open.

To supply HLM with appropriate information for the data, the command, and the MDM files:

Select SPSS/Windows from the Input File Type pull-down menu of the Make MDM - HLM2 dialog box (see the figure above). Click Browse in the Level-1 Specification section to open an Open Data File dialog box. Open a level-1 SPSS system file in the HLM folder (hsb1.sav in our example). The Choose Variables button will be activated. Click Choose Variables to open the Choose Variables - HLM2 dialog box and choose the ID and variables by clicking the appropriate check boxes. To deselect, click the box again.

Select the options for missing data in the level-1 file (there is no missing data in hsb1.sav). Click Browse in the Level-2 specification section to open an Open Data File dialog box. Open a level-2 SPSS system file in the HLM folder (hsb2.sav in our example). The Choose Variables button below Browse will be activated. Click Choose Variables to open the Choose Variables - HLM2 dialog box and choose the ID and variables by clicking the appropriate check boxes.

Enter a name for the MDM file in the MDM file name box (for example, hsb.mdm). Click Save mdmt file in the MDM template file section to open a Save MDM template file dialog box. Enter a name for the MDMT file (for example, hsbspss.mdmt). Click Save to save the file. The command file saves all the input information entered by the user. It can be re-opened by clicking the Open mdmt file button of the Make MDM - HLM2 dialog box. To make changes to an existing MDMT file, click the Edit mdmt file button.

Note that HLM will also save the input information into another file called creatmdm.mdmt when the MDM is created.

Click the make MDM button of the Make MDM - HLM2 dialog box. A screen displaying the prompts and responses for MDM creation will appear.

To check whether the data have been properly read into HLM

Click Check Stats to display and check the level-1 and level-2 descriptive statistics. Pay particular attention to the N column.  It is not an uncommon mistake to forget to sort by the ID variable, which can lead to a lot (or most) of the data not being processed.  Close the Notepad window when done. Use the Save As option to give it a new name if later use of this file is anticipated.

Click Done. The WHLM window displays the type and name on its title bar (hlm2 & hsb.mdm) and the level-1 variables on a drop-down menu as shown below. For an example of a model based on this MDM file, see example of an HLM2 model.