Standardization of data

[peaceman]

Can anybody let me know how to standardize the data from different countries? At the moment, i am using a method but i would like to know if there are better approaches.

[Statman]

It is the deviation of the observed about the mean divided by the standard deviation for each variable of interest

Most stat applications have this built in

[peaceman]

Thanks, Statman!

Could you tell me how to do it in SPSS?

[Carlos Michelsen]

Easy.. go to Analyze, then descriptives, and there you will see a box that says "Save standardized values as variables", check it, select your variables and done! Your new variables will now have the same names but with a Z in front.

[peaceman]

Thanks a lot!