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Many different graphical options and information provided in multiple languages along with many other amazing features

Many different graphical options and information provided in multiple languages along with many other amazing features

Vote: (1,343 votes)

Program license: Trial version

Developer: Spss

Version: 29.0

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(1,343 votes)

Trial version

Developer

Version

Spss

29.0

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Extremely flexible
  • Works with almost any kind of statistical study
  • Includes many mathematical tools

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Certain types of statistical tests may be slower than others

SPSS is a statistical analysis software package that was originally designed for use by social scientists, but a large number of add-on modules have made it appropriate for use with a dizzying array of different types of researchers. You might want to turn to SPSS to crunch numbers as part of a healthcare study, a market research exploration or even a data mining operation. Firms that are seeking to monetize a mound of data that they already sit on have been turning to SPSS in droves to provide them with sufficient insights to make data-driven decisions.

The app's flexibility is due in no small part to its longevity. Originally called the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, SPSS has been around since 1968. It's hard to imagine any other piece of software that's still in wide usage from the so-called big iron era. Since its been around for so long, users of SPSS can find a great deal of third-party applications that support the software.

You'll also be able to find a load of studies that people have already conducted and offered for download on the web. This makes it easy for students to find someone else's research and parse it. SPSS' clean interface is ideal for opening existing studies and poking around inside of them.

Making changes to data is as easy as editing a number in a field. The app is organized somewhat differently from most database or spreadsheet applications, though it's actually ordered in a way that makes it arguably simpler to enter information and make changes later on.

Once you've imported all of your numbers into the app, it can automatically draw up visualizations and help you draw conclusions. Since SPSS was originally designed at least in part for the governmental and education markets, it shines the brightest when working with massive sets of data.

That doesn't mean its not scalable, however. You should be able to make use of SPSS even if you have only ten or twenty points of data in your study. As you being to add more, however, the app will grow to continue tracking your points.

When you first install the base version of the software, you'll be given a huge set of descriptive statistics tools. These include a cross tabulation feature, a frequency calculator and an exploration widget. Perhaps most importantly, the base install can calculate descriptive ratio statistics on its own.

While many users might never turn to the bi-variate statistics window, SPSS really excels in this field. It can tell you the means, t-test figures and Baynesian output for almost any group of numbers. Creative users will start to put these tools together with the onboard descriptive statistics kit so that they can get a more complete picture of every data set that they perform an investigation on.

Linear regression dashboards can be opened once any of these other studies have been run. That gives you the freedom to perform a prediction for the numerical outcome of any change acted upon by a force impacting your set of data.

Each of these factors, as well as a prediction tool that can help you identify groups, are accessible via pull-down menus. The app supports a proprietary command syntax language that's designed around 4GL paradigms. If you're the sort to prefer a command line interface, then this language is a great way to automate your studies and perform repetitious tasks over and over again without having to provide any real user input.

Those who are serious about automation will find that the base package also includes a few other extensions that are geared toward geo spatial analysis and simulation as well as more blanket automation processes. Integrations are offered for both the Python and R languages, which should prove useful to those writing scripts and trying to reuse code.

That being said, those who prefer to stick with the efficient GUI won't be disappointed. Everything they could ever want from SPSS is included in the app's detailed menu system. While they're still going to have to dedicate quite a bit of time to learning how to use each widget, it's time well spent considering just how powerful the app can really be.

Pros

  • Extremely flexible
  • Works with almost any kind of statistical study
  • Includes many mathematical tools

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Certain types of statistical tests may be slower than others

Pros

  • Office Integration
  • Many Graphic Options
  • Multiple Sharing Tools
  • Strong Analysis Function
  • Several Langauge Options

Cons

  • Complex Website
  • Steep Learning Curve
  • Intended for Professional Use

IBM SPSS Statistics is a piece of software designed to help professionals dealing with large amounts of research and statistical data. In order to use SPSS, you must have Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows XP Professional.

If you need total control over every aspect of your info, SPSS is right for you. The software is suited for professionals who need to solve problems related to business, and it can help transform raw stats into illustrations and graphs. To help with the annoyance of having to collate data, SPSS includes built-in functions for analysis.

Using the advanced analytical tools in SPSS, you can search for trends that aren't readily obvious to you from the raw data. By altering certain variables in your data set, you can get a sort of preview about how things would change when specific circumstances occur. The goal of SPSS is to help you get as much insight from your data as you possibly can.

This software is packed full of advanced and useful features. There are built-in options for sharing in many different ways, and you can take advantage of automated models for easier calculations. The suite also features an editor for syntax and full Microsoft Office integration.

Of course, as with all pieces of advanced software, there are some issues. First, the download and app are particularly large, and the installation takes a long time to perform. Once the app is successfully installed, you probably won't be able to use it adequately for quite some time. It could take months of regular use to become fluent with an app like this, but users with some basic experience will have it slightly easier. Some have compared SPSS to Excel, but it has so many more options and much more strength. If you just need a simple data management tool, it would be best to look elsewhere.

A great number of changes have been brought to this newest version of SPSS. The Advanced Statistics module now includes stronger modeling power and generalized linear mixed models. The software's performance level has been greatly improved, and certain tasks saw as much as a 200 percent increase in speed.

Thanks to the new statistics portal, you can use IBM SPSS Statistics Server to offer web-based analytical solutions that are fully customized to clients or friends. Linear model production can now be automated, and the syntax editor has received a substantial boost to its performance and utility.

When using this software, the Default Measurement Level function is set automatically when you take advantage of analytical tools. It has integration with Salesforce to help you find customer data, find models that have been pre-built, and market directly to clients.

Pros

  • Office Integration
  • Many Graphic Options
  • Multiple Sharing Tools
  • Strong Analysis Function
  • Several Langauge Options

Cons

  • Complex Website
  • Steep Learning Curve
  • Intended for Professional Use