How to do a Chi-square test for independence in SPSS? 1. Using Chi-Square Statistic in Research This easy tutorial will show you how to run the Chi-Square test in SPSS, and how to interpret the result. The chi-square test of independence uses to investigate the relationship between two categorical variables that have two or more categories. In addition, the test compares the proportions, that is, the frequency of cases observed in each of the categories with values that would be expected to have if there is no relationship between the variables. First of all, the chi-square test based on a contingency table that shows the intersection of each category of one variable with each group of the other variable.