The Relative Performance of Five Computer Program Packages which Perform Factorial Univariate Analysis of Covariance

Abstract

This study was designed to provide indepth analytic comparisons of five commonly available packaged computer programs which perform factorial univariate analysis of covariance. The five packages : Statistical Analysis System (SAS), DATATEXT, Biomedical Computer Programs (BMDO3V and BMDO12V), and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were compared by running each program using the same set of data. Comparative data were then tabulated according to the following criteria: (1) Manual Usability, (2) Data Processing Features, and (3) Statistical Analysis Characteristics. SAS was felt to be the best overall package based on ease of set-up, accuracy, analytic completeness, and readability. However, each program had certain features which might make it more desirable for a given analysis situation.

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