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mac000

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 6, 2005
679
0
Is anyone using the SPSS stat software from their University?
 
Minitab is a bit more intuitive than SPSS. I recommend R, the FOSS version of S+ if you're willing to learn the syntax. Or keep in mind that as long as you have a program that can invert, transpose, and do simple mathematical manipulation to matrices - you have little need for anything else. Excel or OO Spreadsheet program are excellent alternatives.
 
I use it too. Have for years now. It's actually one of the simplest GUI interfaces I've used in a statistical package. Unfortunately the Mac version is kinda like SPSS's red-headed step child.
 
I use Minitab under Fusion on my Mac (v14 I think). I gets the job done but is definitely more Windows 3.1 than Mac in look and feel.
 
We use SAS JMP7 software which I believe is Mac only. Having used both SPSS and JMP I highly prefer JMP although SPSS is easier to use for a novice.
 
Add another vote for R. I used SPSS (and SAS) for quite some time, and found some annoyingly arbitrary choices that the programmers made in what you were able to accomplish using the GUI. Like the impossibility of using nested variables, but only for certain analyses. Or difficulties in controlling how sums of squares are handled. Or the lack of modern model selection and bayesian capabilities. Etc, etc, etc.
 
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