What statistical software programs should be taught in public affairs graduate schools to best prepare students for prospective jobs? A nationwide survey of MPA, MPP, and related Masters programs found that introductory statistics courses most often use SPSS. In later statistics classes, MPP programs use Stata more often than SPSS. Budget and finance courses almost always employ Excel. Those priorities were fairly congruent with the market. Relevant employers on 35 job websites requested familiarity with Excel far more often than any other statistical software. SAS and SPSS were nearly tied for second place, and Stata was third. SPSS is used for data analysis in a plurality of relevant academic publications, but the use of Stata has increased sharply over the past 15 years. As public affairs faculties evaluate their curricula, findings from this research on program practices and employer priorities can help inform their deliberations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AcockA. C. (2005). SAS, Stata, SPSS: A comparison.Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 1093–1095.
2.
AdamsW. C. (2010). Using the Internet. In WholeyJ.HatryH.NewcomerK., Handbook of practical program evaluation (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
3.
AltmanM.GillJ.McDonaldM. (2004). Numerical issues in statistical computing for the social scientist. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
4.
AltmanM.McDonaldM. (2001). Choosing reliable statistical software.PS: Political Science and Politics, 34, 681–687.
5.
AlmironM. G.LopesB.OliveiraA. L. C.MedeirosA. C.FreryA. C. (2010). On the numerical accuracy of spreadsheets.Journal of Statistical Software, 34, 1–29.
6.
AristiguetaM.GomesM. B. (2006). Assessing performance in NASPAA graduate programs.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 12, 1–18.
7.
BrockG. (1975). Competition, standards, and self-regulation in the computer industry. In CavesR. E.RobertsM. J., Regulating the product: Quality and variety, Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
8.
CarlbergC. G. (2011). Statistical analysis: Microsoft Excel 2010. Indianapolis, IN: Que.
9.
DiMaria-GhaliliR. A.OstrowC. L. (2009). Using Microsoft Excel to teach statistics in a graduate advanced practice nursing program.Journal of Nursing Education, 48, 106–110.
10.
DretzkeB. J. (2011). Statistics with Microsoft Excel. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
11.
Economides, Nicholas. (1996). The economics of networks.International Journal of Industrial Organization, 14, 673–699.
12.
FarrellJ.SalonerG. (1986). Installed base and compatibility: Innovation, product preannouncements, and predation.American Economic Review, 76, 940–955.
13.
FitzpatrickJ. L.Miller-StevensK. (2009). A case study of measuring outcomes in an MPA program.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15, 17–31.
14.
HargreavesB. R.McWilliamsT. P. (2010). Polynomial trendline function flaws in Microsoft Excel.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 54, 1190–1196.
15.
InfeldD. L.AdamsW. C. (2011). MPA and MPP students: Twins, siblings, or distant cousins.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 17, 277–303.
KatzM.ShapiroC. (1986). Technology adoption in the presence of network externalities.Journal of Political Economy, 94, 822–841.
18.
KeelingK. B.PavurR. J. (2007). A comparative study of the reliability of nine statistical software packages.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 51, 3811–3831.
19.
KnüselL. (1998). On the accuracy of statistical distributions in Microsoft Excel 97.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 26, 375–377.
20.
KnüselL. (2002). On the reliability of Microsoft Excel XP for statistical purposes.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 39, 109–110.
21.
KnüselL. (2005). On the accuracy of statistical distributions in Microsoft Excel 2003.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 48, 445–449.
22.
KovenS. G.GoetzkeF.BrennanM. (2008). Profiling public affairs programs: The view from the top.Administration and Society, 40, 691–710.
23.
McCulloughB. D.HeiserD. A. (2008). On the accuracy of statistical procedures in Microsoft Excel 2007.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 52, 4570–4578.
24.
McCulloughB. D.WilsonB. (1999). On the accuracy of statistical procedures in Microsoft Excel 97.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 31, 27–37.
25.
McCulloughB. D.WilsonB. (2002). On the accuracy of statistical procedures in Microsoft Excel 2000 and Excel XP.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 40, 713–721.
26.
McCulloughB. D.WilsonB. (2005). On the accuracy of statistical procedures in Microsoft Excel 2003.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 49, 1244–1252.
27.
MitchellM. N. (2005). Strategically using general purpose statistics packages: A look at Stata, SAS and SPSS (Technical Report Series, Report 1). Los Angeles: Statistical Consulting Group, UCLA Academic Technology Services.
28.
MooreD. S. (1997). New pedagogy and new content: The case of statistics.International Statistical Review, 65, 123–165.
29.
MorçölG.IvanovaN. P. (2010). Methods taught in public policy programs.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16, 255–277.
30.
NashJ. (2008). Teaching statistics with Excel 2007 and other spreadsheets.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 52, 4602–4606.
31.
National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). (2009). NASPAA Standards: 2009. Retrieved from http://naspaa.org/accreditation/doc/NS2009FinalVote10.16.2009.pdf
32.
National Research Council. (1990). Reshaping school mathematics: A philosophy and framework for curriculum. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
33.
National Research Council. (1991). Moving beyond myths: Revitalizing undergraduate mathematics. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
34.
NewcomerK. E.AllenH. A. (2010). Public service education: Adding value in the public interest.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 16, 207–229.
35.
PowellD. C. (2009). How do we know what they know? Evaluating student-learning outcomes in an MPA program.Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15, 269–287.
36.
ProctorJ. L. (2002). SPSS vs. Excel: Computing software, criminal justice students, and statistics.Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 13, 433–442.
37.
PrvanT.ReidA.PetoczP. (2002). Statistical laboratories using Minitab, SPSS, and Excel: A practical comparison.Teaching Statistics, 24, 68–75.
38.
SawitzkiG. (1994). Report on the numerical reliability of data analysis systems.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 18, 289–301.
39.
SuY. (2008). It’s easy to produce chartjunk using Microsoft Excel 2007 but hard to make good graphs.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 52, 4594–4601.
40.
WarnerC. B.MeehanA. M. (2001) Microsoft Excel as a tool for teaching basic statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 28, 295–298.
41.
Wikipedia. (2011). Comparison of statistical packages. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_statistical_packages
42.
YaltaA. T. (2008). The accuracy of statistical distributions in Microsoft Excel 2007.Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, 52, 4579–4586.
