Findings on Statistical Package Options and Summary of SAC Responses Compiled by the Iowa SAC ‐ April 3, 2012

Home , Gretl, PSPP, Stata, SYSTAT (software)

In March, Iowa SAC Director Paul Stageberg posed the following questions on the SAC listserv:

In Iowa we have always used SPSS for our analytic work. Unfortunately, with an anticipated upgrade in operating systems, our current version of SPSS will become obsolete. Because of the costs associated with renewing our agreement with SPSS, we have been investigating other possible analytic tools (e.g., PSPP, SOFA). We are interested in learning what other SACs are using for analysis, along with an assessment of your satisfaction with what you’re using. In the event that you’re not using freeware, we’re also interested in how you’re paying for the software you use.

Following is a summary of the Iowa SAC's assessment of statistical packages and SAC responses to the questions.

Important functionality capabilities sought in a statistical program Open SPSS files, syntax, and output Import data from Excel and Access Recode and compute variables Select cases Random sampling Descriptive statistics Basic statistics (correlations, t‐tests) Copy/paste output Ability to create syntax or otherwise manipulate output Graphs

Potential overarching issues with alternative statistical programs 1. Confidence in the results 2. Time/resources to learn the program(s), limited support/help 3. One program may not meet all needs, potential for more than one program needed and implications for sharing files among staff and/or projects being re‐assigned

Disadvantages of alternative statistical program

PSPP Cannot layer cross tabs using the menu (but can be done using syntax) Cannot import data from ACCESS Can only import from CVS format in Excel The manual reports some bugs; some statistics may need to be computed by hand in order to ensure correct results “Help” button does not allow you to search and is not interactive

Gretl Cannot view the entire dataset with all cases (can only view variable list and select one variable to view cases) Does not open SPSS syntax or ACCESS files Calculating variables is not as user friendly as SPSS

Do not see a way to recode variables

STATA Fee‐based

SYSTAT Fee‐based; free trial version available

SOFA Not compatible with SPSS files and syntax Fewer advanced statistics (i.e. ROC curve, models, etc.) No random sampling Cannot compute variables (although can recode) Not able to create syntax (bad in situations where needing to run statistical tests on many variables or running statistical tests on numerous occasions)

OpenStat Not compatible with SPSS files and syntax Cannot import data from ACCESS Difficult to import data (Can use Excel data was by copying/pasting into OpenStat, but it is slow and must rename and define all the variables; Can import Excel data in Tab delimited format, but it only imports the first 14 rows correctly) Slow The manual reports some bugs; some statistics may need to be computed by hand in order to ensure correct results Not able to create syntax (bad in situations where needing to run statistical tests on many variables or running statistical tests on numerous occasions)

Capabilities and strengths of alternative statistical program

PSPP Opens SPSS syntax and data files Looks and operates very similar to SPSS Some more advanced statistics (i.e. ROC, models, Somer’s D, etc.)

Gretl Opens Excel and SPSS data files Can save commands (similar to SPSS’s syntax) Random sampling Some more advanced statistics (i.e. time series, econometric) Help button provides useful information

STATA Supposedly, there is a command that allows you to open SPSS files Lower cost than SPSS and no additional cost for advanced statistic Complete package, with no modules to add to the cost

SYSTAT Open SPSS files and Excel files Lower cost than SPSS and no additional cost for advanced statistics Complete package, with no modules to add to the cost Based on demo, appears to be user friendly and menu driven with nice graphic interface License is perpetual (no renewal); unlimited technical support

SOFA Easy to create professional‐looking charts and graphs Interactive and easy to use Fast results Guide tells you what statistic is appropriate to use based on your data

OpenStat Capable of calculating more advanced statistics (i.e. Time series, models, simulation, etc.) Directions provided on the screen upon selecting an operation on the menu

Costs

Program Cost Per User Annual Cost for CJJP License users/Year Gretl FREE OpenStat FREE PSPP FREE SOFA FREE SYSTAT All included $968.15 $4,840.75 (5 users) (downloadable version, govt. discount) STATA STATA 12/IC for $595.00 $2,975.00 (5 users) moderate‐sized dataset (max # variables = 2,047 max # right hand variables = 798) SPSS SPSS 20.0 Base $1,020.00 $5,100.00 (5 users) SPSS Regression $566.00 $566.00 (1 user) SPSS Advanced $566.00 $566.00 (1 user) SPSS Forecasting $566.00 $566.00 (1 user)

Reported Use & Funding of Statistical Programs by other SACs

Nineteen of the 22 SACs use SPSS, and many of those reported using it as their primary analysis tool. A couple states mentioned using other programs in addition to SPSS, including SAS (proprietary), Mplus (proprietary, advanced modeling), STATA (proprietary, econometric), SYSTAT (proprietary, advanced modeling), R (open source), Gretl (open source, econometric), and database management programs such as MS Access, Excel, and SQL Server, although SPSS was recognized as a more comprehensive tool for statistical analysis. Among the three SACs not using SPSS, one state reported discontinuing use of SPSS due to lack of needing to conduct advanced statistics and ability to use other programs, such as Access and Excel, for basic data manipulation and descriptive statistics; one uses SAS; and another did not specify the statistical software. Reasons for using SPSS among those using the program included its ease of use, excellent documentation, and staff familiarity.

The SAC grant was mentioned as the primary source of funding for SPSS. Other SACs fund SPSS from multiple external grants, state funds, or were allowed site level access through the universities where they are housed. Several noted the high and rising costs of SPSS and expressed interest in other low cost options.

Responses received from SACs are provided below.

Alaska Alaska’s SAC is housed at the University of Alaska, which maintains site level licensing to software used by faculty and staff. Most data management is accomplished with MSAccess, SQLServer, and various .NET aps, mostly homegrown. For final project processing, SPSS, although SAS is also used, is primarily used for analytics.

California

In California we also use SPSS and we pay for it from our general fund budget. We use SPSS because of its shallow learning curve.

However, I can understand your frustration with the price increases, especially if you would need tools beyond the base module. I did some checking and found that a program that I had used in the past is still out there and may be a more affordable solution for you. The program is SYSTAT. For less than the price of SPSS's base module you can get a program with a perpetual license and many of the advanced analytic tools that SPSS offers in their advanced modules.

Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Utah, Washington DC SAC has been using SPSS for research and analysis. We use SAC grant to upgrade the software.

Connecticut In Connecticut, we are giving up our SPSS license. For the last three years we have been able to produce all of our analytical products using Access. When combined with Excel and Word it allows us to take in raw, operational data in at one end, process the data through Access, kick it out to Excel for charts and pop it into Word for reports. I acknowledge, all we’ve really done here in the last few years is

4 descriptive statistics so we’ve had no real need for more computational power. That said, the criminal justice audience we have here appears satisfied with what we are delivering.

Idaho In Idaho we use Access for data management and some data manipulation, but rely extensively on SPSS (or PASW), purchased in 2010. To pay for the software, I set aside funding from several different grants. I initially budgeted money out of the SAC grant for a software upgrade. However, I was disappointed to learn I had not budgeted enough because of the increase in price over prior versions (we purchased PASW 18.0, but it seems the software increased in price quite a bit once IBM bought the company?). I have been satisfied that the software remains user‐friendly. We purchased several extensions that increased the price over the basic package. I am happy with the extensions, but wish more was included in the basic package so it could remain at a more reasonable cost. Currently, we have not tried any freeware.

Illinois We rely heavily on SPSS, but there are other products such as M+ that have features SPSS does not. Some of the products are freeware.

We use SPSS and Mplus quite a bit. We tend to use Access for a lot of data management and organization. We also use R, which is freeware. I’ve heard that PSPP is relatively limited in its capabilities, but I’ve never used it myself so I couldn’t say for sure. Mark Powers also suggested looking into Gretl which is another freeware program. I have a copy of Minitab I occasionally use, which is inexpensive, but as you probably know, it’s not the best beyond very basic stats. There’s no single program that we know of that does the data manipulation and advanced stats that SPSS does, but you could use a couple different programs to accomplish the same tasks.

Massachusetts Here at the MA SAC we use SPSS and Access for data entry, SPSS for analyses and Excel for charts/graphs. The expense of SPSS, especially if you want some of the additional modules, is becoming more of a concern. As a newcomer to the SAC, I’m still educating myself as to what other tools I might want to consider. We will be looking to develop our mapping skills and resources in the near future.

Nevada You might also want to look into "R". It's free and will run on both a Mac and a PC. In addition, there is a lot of supporting documentation (i.e., user manuals) and information online that can help you if you get stuck. I'm pretty sure there's also a R listserv somewhere that could be useful.

Oklahoma We use SPSS for many of the same reasons already mentioned. I use grant and agency funds for annual support/maintenance fees.

Vermont We are still using SPSS in VT.

Virginia The VA SAC primarily uses SPSS. It works well for us, although it is a major expense. We tend to lag several versions behind whatever is most current, making due with older versions as long as it works for us, because keeping up with the upgrades gets expensive. We usually pay for it with state agency admin funds. We also uses Access for various databases and analyses, since we have a good Access programmer. If the various responses so far, I see mention of other statistical analysis softwares that are being used. If anyone has specific satisfactory experience with software that has capabilities similar to SPSS, but at less cost, I’d like to hear about it.

Washington State SAS for research and analysis

West Virginia In WV we use SPSS. We are also very unhappy with the significant price changes. Similar to Jim [Virginia], I would be interested in looking at other programs that have SPSS capabilities.

Wyoming Wyoming’s experience is similar to Idaho’s and several other states’. We mainly use SPSS, with the annual renewal fee paid from several externally funded research projects. Our SAC is part of the state university, which purchases a university‐wide site license that allows our entire staff to access the SPSS base module almost for free. That means we only have to pay full price for one additional stand‐alone copy of the software, for analyses that require more than the base. We like SPSS because its documentation is the best around, and most of our researchers already have extensive knowledge of SPSS when we hire them. We rely heavily on SPSS syntax (rather than the point and click interface) to automate and systematize analyses that get repeated from year to year. On the other hand, the user support we get for our one annual fee is disappointing, as is the price increase from IBM. We have dropped most of our extra modules in SPSS because of the cost, and retain only the base package plus a couple of additional modules. We also use Access occasionally, R for some specialized purposes, and STATA for econometric modeling. Excel is good for producing graphs and charts, though not for statistical analysis.