Choosing the best statistical programming software

Part 1 - Notes and a guide considering Licensing, Installation and Campus Availability Part 2 Functionality considerations

Each section below summarizes availability and popularity of use in various departments for the major statistical packages used on campus (where the term 'statistical' is used in a broad sense to general purpose data analysis and manipulation tools)

Not all statistical software in use on campus can be listed here (since the goal is to provide a guide of the 'major'/more popular software tools). For some software tools, volume purchased (site) license agreements are actively being negotiated by CSET or other University entities. In other cases, negotiations with vendors have been attempted but no bulk purchase agreements could be reached that offer substantial savings to the academic end users (as such possibilities vary from vendor to vendor and according to the popularity of the product).

SAS
Operating Systems/Platforms: SAS can run on Windows, and on Unix. Recent versions of SAS are supported on the Macintosh platform. Ease of Use: Moderately difficult to learn but powerful. SAS on Unix use usually entails use of system editor (rather than the SAS Integrated Development Environment) Availability on campus POD machines: Yes, in the Information Commons and Acad A Availability on office machines: Yes, upon request (volume purchase/site-wide, For your computer) Availability for personal/home machines: No, licensing is limited to university-owned machines Fees: None Departments (where use is common): SOM (Finance, Marketing), Economics, Watson/Engineering, Other (Sociology, Anthropology)

SPSS
Operating Systems/Platforms: Windows, Macintosh Ease of Use: Easy, point and click, though syntax an option for automation Availability on campus POD machines: Limited, SPSS is available in Sci 2 and Academic A (CIW?) Availability on office machines: Limited, (fee applies to each individual installation) Availability for personal/home machines: Yes, available, for academic purposes Fees: $50 per year per machine (for Base installation), additional fees may apply for additional modules (such as Complex Samples, Missing Values, Sample Power …) Departments (where use is common): Psychology, Nursing, Biology, Other (Sociology, Anthropology, Public Administration)

Stata
Operating Systems/Platforms: Windows, Macintosh, Linux Ease of Use: ??? Availability on campus POD machines: ??? Availability on office machines: ??? Availability for personal/home machines: ??? Fees: ??? Departments (where use is common): Economics