STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE By Johnson Lubega Kagugube

STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE By Johnson Lubega Kagugube Director, District Statistics and Capacity Development Uganda Bureau of Statistics 1

OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION l Meaning of data analysis l Purpose for data analysis l Reason for statistical analysis l Issues to consider in data analysis l Statistical data analysis softwares l Issues to consider when choosing a Statistical Package l Conclusion

MEANING OF STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS l Collection of methods used to process raw data and report the overall trends. l Process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data.

REASON FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Transform raw data into information The general purpose of statistical analysis is to provide meaning to what otherwise would be a collection of numbers and/or values. l Provide a way of drawing inductive inferences from data and distinguishing the signal (the phenomenon of interest) from the noise (statistical fluctuations) present in the data l Statistical analysis procedures are categorized according to the type of statistics generated; i. e descriptive, associative, and inferential. l l

REASON FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSISCont. . Descriptive statistics portray individuals or events in terms of some predefined characteristics, like measure of central tendency and dispersion – Mean, Median, Range, Standard Deviation, etc. 2. Associative or relative statistics seek to identify meaningful interrelationships between or among data. Such statistics include; univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis. For instance, "Is there a relationship between salt intake and diastolic blood pressure among middle-age women? " is a problem definition suitable for analysis by associative statistics. 1.

REASON FOR STATISTICAL ANALYSISCont. . 3. Inferential statistics seek to assess the characteristics of a sample in order to make more general statements about the parent population, or about the relationship between different samples or populations. l l Measures of differences of the means and measures of statistical significance For Example; "Does a low sodium diet lower the diastolic blood pressure of middle-age women? " represents a problem definition suitable for inferential statistics.

ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN DATA ANALYSIS l There a number of issues to consider with respect to data analysis. These include: l Having the necessary skills to analyze l Following acceptable norms for data analysis and presentation l Choosing the appropriate statistical software l Providing honest and accurate analysis l Manner of presenting data l Extent of data analysis

A Statistical package is a computer programme that specializes in statistical data analysis.

WHAT STATISTICAL SOFTWARES CAN DO IN RELATION TO DATA ANALYSIS l Input data into the computer l Organise data l Compare data l Manage data l Summarise data (transform raw data into information) l Generate tables and graphs l Facilitate presentation of information and preparation of analytical reports

SOME OF THE STATISTICAL PACKAGES BY SOURCE OPEN SOURCE PUBLIC DOMAIN FREEWARE PROPRIETARY ADD-INS Open. Epi Bright. Stat BV 4. 1 SAS ANALYSE-IT PSPP CSPro Geo. DA STATA SIGMA XL R Epi Info Win. BUGS SPSS STATEL R Commander X-12 -ARIMA WINPEPI S-PLUS SUDAAN Shogun INSTAT WINIDAMS MINITAB TOTAL ACCESS Statistics ZAITUN Time Series GENSTAT SSC-STATA Ploticus Simfit E-VIEWS Statistical Lab STATISTICA

MAJOR STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS PACKAGES l In terms of the wide usageare; l STATA l SAS –Statistical Analysis System l SPSS- Statistical Package for Social Sciences

MAJOR STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS PACKAGES –Cont. . l Licensing policies STATA SAS SPSS COST In US Dollars 295 6000 1599 DURATION Purchase and own the version Annual INSTALLATION Multiple installations allowed One license per CPU EXTRA COST No extra pay for separate modules No extra cost Extra Modules like Survey data, and time series paid for

MAJOR STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS PACKAGES –Cont. . l Other Issues Installation and Updates STATA SAS SPSS Simple Complicated Quick and easy All customers entitled to technical support Students buying Gradpack are not entitled to technical support Availability of All customers Technical support entitled to from developer technical support Web Site http: /www. stata. com/ http: /www. sas. com http: //w. w. w. spss. com Add-on-programs Users permitted to create new commands that integrated in the system Macros are developed but cannot be integrated in the system Little space to accept new macros

ISSUES TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A STATISTICAL PACKAGE l l l Important to know more than one statistical software package Analyse your needs with respect to data management and analysis; and choose a package that addresses the needs Ease of importing and exporting data to other computer programmes Ease of transferring the output into word processing facilities Licensing facility-Purchase to own Vs hire General Vs Specialized purpose statistical software

UBOS’ EXPERIENCE l UBOS is currently using STATA. Recently STATA Ver 10 and Statransfer Ver 8 were procured for UBOS, sector ministries and the Higher Local Governments l Why STATA l l It is more sustainable l Cost l One time license Is it more useful? l Handling data l Graphics for exploration and reports l Capacity for programming l Latest version is Windows based to a great extent l Technical capacity already available for the stakeholders in the NSS

CONCLUSION l Statistical capacity building is necessary in terms of training and mentoring to; l enable countries assist and also learn from each other l enable all stakeholders involved in the respective countries NSS to acquire expertise to determine their statistical data analysis needs l enable staff handling statistics in Africa to acquire knowledge to use statistical packages to process, and analyse data to support planning and monitoring of development programmes l Choosing a statistical package to use requires analysis of the cost, data analysis needs and the licensing policy. l The National Statistical Offices should establish collaborative arrangements with the Statistical Training Institutions to ensure that the graduates train in the selected statistical packages.

E ND THANK YOU 17