How to Create a Distance Matrix

Introduction

This article describes how to create a distance matrix, also known as a dissimilarity matrix. A distance matrix is a table that shows the distance between pairs of objects. You can compare variables or the values of up to 100 individual cases.

Requirements

A data set containing two or more variables of the scale (numeric, ordinal, etc.) to use as inputs to the distance matrix.

Method

1. Select Anything > Advanced Analysis > Correlation > Distance Matrix

2. From the object inspector on the right, select Inputs > Compare and select if you want to compare variables or cases. For this example, we'll select variables. 

3. For Inputs > Variables, select the variables to compare. For this example, I've selected 5-point brand attitude variables (how well respondents like each brand) for 6 different cola brands. 

4. Click the Calculate button to generate the distance matrix output. 

Note that if a case contains missing values, it is omitted from the analysis. Also, weights are not applicable when comparing cases. 

See Also

How to do Multidimensional Scaling from a Distance Matrix

How to do Multidimensional Scaling from a Variables