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Data Connection: Data Services

Analyze Data

Sheridan Library provides a collection of resources to help researchers selecting a variety of data analysis software. Get started by selecting the commercial and open access/free software you are interested in.

Software

Category

Personal Access

Windows

Mac

Web-based

SPSS Statistical Available via Sheridan AppsAnywhere YES YES NO
SAS Statistical Free download for SAS university edition. Installation instructions are available here. YES YES NO
Nvivo Statistical Available via Sheridan Research Office YES YES NO
ArcGIS GIS Create a trial ArcGIS online account for 21 days. Or create a free ArcGIS public account with limited-functionality YES YES NO
SimplyAnalytics Business Data; Data Visualization Available via Sheridan library YES YES YES
MATLAB Statistical Available via Sheridan AppsAnywhere YES YES NO
Tableau Desktop Data Visualization Tableau offers one-year free license for students at accredited academic institutions. Instructor also can apply for one-year license and more details can be found here YES YES NO

Software

Category

Access

Windows

Mac

Web-based

PSPP Statistical Free download YES YES NO
Tableau Public Data Visualization Free online access (Account sign-up is required) YES YES YES
Qlik Data Visualization Free download for Qlik View Personal Edition (Account sign-up is required) YES YES NO
Story Maps GIS Free online access (Account sign-up is required) YES YES YES
R Statistical; Data Visualization Free download YES YES NO
Python Statistical; Data Visualization Free download YES YES NO
QGIS GIS Free download YES YES NO
Google Earth Pro GIS Free download YES YES NO
OpenRefine Data Cleaning Free download YES YES NO
PiktoChart Data Visualization Free access with limited capabilities (Account sign-up is required) YES YES YES
Plotly Data Visualization Free access with limited capabilities (Account sign-up is required) YES YES NO
Gephi Data Visualization Free download YES YES NO
Leaflet Data Visualization Free download YES YES NO
D3.js Data Visualization Free download YES YES NO
Palladio Data Visualization Free online access YES YES YES

Open Source/Free Qualitative Analysis Software

  • AQUAD: Originally developed by Günter Huber at the University of Tübingen for analysis of textual, audio, video, and image data, a detailed listing of features can be found at AQUAD Features.
  • QDA Miner Lite: This is the free version of QDA Miner developed by Provalis Research. It has limited functionality, but you could still perform the basic functions. To compare features and download QDA Miner Lite, visit Provalis QDA Miner.
  • Taguette: It is an open source qualitative analysis program. Users can tag words, sentences, paragraphs with the codes you create. Check out the features for text analysis
  • General Architecture for Text Engineering (GATE): It is a Java suite of tools used for all sorts of natural language processing tasks. The Text Analytics software was developed at the University of Sheffield beginning in 1995. More features can be found at GATE Main Site.
  • TAMS Analyzer: TAMS stands for Text Analysis Markup System. It is used to identify themes in texts (web pages, interviews, field notes). It was designed for use in ethnographic and discourse research. Check TAMS site.
  • Weft QDA: Weft QDA is a free and open source tool for the analysis of textual data such as interview transcripts, fieldnotes and other documents. Check out Weft QDA website.
  • RQDA & QCoder: RQDA is a R package for Qualitative Data Anaysis, a free qualitative analysis software application. To find out more details about RQDA, please visit RQDA.
  • Qualcoder: Developed by Colin Curtain of Australia as a fallout of his PhD work using RQDA. If you like RQDA, this may boost your research to include audio and video.

Learning Resources

SPSS

SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is a flexible statistical anlaysis program running on Windows and Mac operating systems.  The menu-driven interface makes it well suited for beginner users of statistical software programs.

Commonly used in:

  • Social sciences
  • Health sciences
  • Marketing
  • Academia

Useful links:

Video Tutorials

Library Resources

Official Documentation

Other resources

 

SAS

SAS is a comprehensive statistical software package that runs on Windows, Mac and UNIX systems. Although the program is generally well suited to power users, it has a point-and-click interface which makes some features more accessible to new users.

Commonly used in:

  • Business
  • Manufacturing
  • Health and Life Sciences
  • Researches with large datasets

Useful links:

Video Tutorials

Library Resources

Official Documentation

Other resources

 

NVivo

NVivo is a qualitative data analysis software program compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems. Users can organize, sort and code qualitative data by importing original sources in pdf, video, audio, and spreadsheets among other formats. Once the qualitative data is entered, NVivo can perform queries and model trends using graphs and other visualisations.

Commonly used in:

  • Social Sicences
  • Health science
  • Marketing
  • Researches with rich text-based or multimedia information

 

Useful links:

Video Tutorials

Library Resources

Official Documentation

Other resources

 

MATLAB

MATLAB is software for mathematical computation, analysis, visualization, and algorithm development. MATLAB features a family of application-specific solutions called toolboxes.

Commonly used in:

  • Engineering
  • Economics
  • Science
  • Academia

 

Useful links:

Video Tutorials

Library Resources

Official Documentation

Other resources

 

ArcGIS

ArcGIS Desktop allows you to analyze your data and author geographic knowledge to examine relationships, test predictions, and ultimately make better decisions.

Commonly used in:

  • GIS & IT professionals
  • Application developers
  • Public and Community Studies
  • Public Sector and Government agencies
  • Education
  • Applied Science and Technology
  • Social Sciences

Useful links:

Video Tutorials

Library Resources

Official Documentation

Other resources

 

Tableau Public

Tableau Public is a free version of an interactive data visualization tool. Tableau can help you design interactive dashboard/visualizations from complex data sets and share them online.

Useful links:

Video Tutorials

Library Resources

Official Documentation

Other resources

 

SimplyAnalytics

SimplyAnalytics (formerly SimplyMap) is a web-based mapping application that lets users quickly create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using powerful demographic, business, and marketing data.

Commonly used in

  • Community health
  • Political Science
  • Economics
  • Aboriginal and women studies
  • Education
  • Social Work
  • Geography

Useful links:

Books