Students and faculty learn about statistical analysis software 

(May 4, 2023) -- Dr. Anil Shrestha, Viticulture and Enology Research Center interim director and plant science faculty, recently hosted a data analysis workshop for 20 faculty and graduate students from four Jordan College departments to offer help using IBM SPSS statistics analysis software.

The menu-driven application is available in most Jordan College computer lab workstations, and is an excellent alternative tool for researchers who do not feel comfortable writing codes that are needed in other statistical applications and analytics tools such as JMP, SAS or R.

Basic concepts in experimental designs and data analysis are covered generally in university biometrics courses, but students often need additional help analyzing specific data on their own since there are no Jordan College consultants for statistical questions.

Some agricultural science research also use experimental designs that do not fall under the expertise of the statistical help center (or campus tutors), so it can be difficult to analyze project data.

"Data analysis is one of the most important components of research," Shrestha said. "There is various software available for data analysis, and when students get into their careers, the more versed with them, the easier the transition. Equally important is to use the correct research statistical model for the particular experimental design, so the workshop highlighted the correct models for different common experimental designs."

Shrestha noted he hopes to host a second workshop session in the fall.