Studies to become an educational scientist necessitate the use of statistical analysis software. The VUB’s course Introduction to Statistics is taught using a proprietary software called SPSS. Although many computer labs in the B Building offer free access to the software during the week, it isn't always convenient to complete homework on-campus. Often busy or working students need to finish tasks during late evening hours or on the free days of the weekend. Students have access to SPSS, but not always with the greatest degree of freedom, particularly if the labs are full.
Alternatively, students can use a free, open source software for all of their statistical analysis needs; the software, named PSPP, is nearly identical in functionality to the proprietary SPSS with the other added benefits inherent with OSS. PSPP is available at no cost, features open source code for easy editing to the user’s needs, and an online support community of users and programmers.
SPSS vs. PSPP
Licenses for the download of the student version of the proprietary statistical analysis software, SPSS, are available to VUB students at a cost of about 20 euro for one year of use. VUBtiek offers the license key necessary to unlock a download of the software.
You need not purchase this software, however. Download PSPP by GNU, a nearly-identical variant for free! By opting for PSPP, you never have to worry that your ability to use the software will end at some point in the future. Unlike the proprietary software, PSPP offers all capabilities to users in one download. The proprietary software has tiered usage, which separates students from those the company deems higher-level users. There is one important drawback of the open source software users should know about. PSPP cannot open .spv files, the output documents, originally generated from proprietary SPSS.
Please consult the PSPP Tutorials for a collection of step-by-step instructions for the statistical analysis processes most often needed by education scientists.
Source links:
http://softweb.vub.ac.be/spss.php
http://www.vub.ac.be/infovoor/toekomstigestudenten/cursusdienst.html
http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/
http://course-software.blogspot.be/p/pspp-step-by-step-tutorials.html
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