R, Rstudio and Python are freeware which can be downloaded from the web. For a list of other software the university provides access to refer to the article “What software is available to University staff?” on the services portal requesting project help (article KB0011594). At the time of writing this included SPSS, AMOS, GenStat, SAS, Mathematica, MATLAB, ArcGIS.
Complete Guide to R: Wrangling, Visualizing, and Modeling Data
Alex says: A wonderful comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to using R, with our SIH-SC recommended approach using RStudio and tidyverse packages. The course is free with a University of Sydney login. Tip: if you have a personal Linked-in account make sure you log out and then log in using your University of Sydney email address to get free access to the course.
Ali says: This R Ladies Sydney course is a great way to learn the basics of R and tidyverse. It actually helped me learn how to use the tidyverse during my Postdoc in Biostats. It walks you through a range of R packages and functions for data cleaning, visualisation, and presentation, by providing you with easy-to-follow videos, lesson outcomes and tasks, and step-by-step instructions for carrying out these tasks with a sample dataset.
Making tables in R with table1
Using the table1 Package to Create HTML Tables of Descriptive Statistics
Ali says: The table1 package is designed to produce publication-ready numerical summary statistics tables that are typically reported as Table 1 of a manuscript. The first link will show you how to get started with the package, as well as customise your tables for your journal and formatting requirements. For further examples of how to use the table1 package, see the second link above.
Missing data using the finalfit package
Ali says: The final fit pacakge is great for exploring missing data in your dataset by (1) producing plots to explore patterns of missingness, (2) incorporating missing data into your demographic tables and (3) checking for patterns between your missing and observed data.
How to download SPSS
Technology - SPSS Statistics and SPSS AMOS (service-now.com)
Chris says: Follow this link on information on how to download SPSS at Sydney Uni. UniKey required.
SPSS Statistics Essential Training
Jim says: This LinkedIn Learning course is an ideal way to introduce yourself to the SPSS environment and learn everything from the basics of data manipulation and visualisation right through to linear and logistic regression. Having access to exercise files, speaker transcripts and captions, Q&A and your own notebook make it really accessible and user friendly. You’ll be browsing the other content on LinkedIn Learning after you have finished this one. The course is free with a University of Sydney login.
McCormick, K. et al. SPSS Statistics for Data Analysis and Visualization @USyd library
Jim says: There are many textbooks on SPSS that cover the basics in detail (my favourite is the one by Andy Field), but not many that cover the more advanced features of SPSS. So once you have learnt the basics, this is a great reference to learn more about advanced statistics, data visualisation, predictive analytics and advanced programming techniques.
SPSS Contextual Help
Jim says: When you open a dialog box for an analysis and you are faced with a variety of options that seem to be written in a foreign language, click on the help button to see the details. It is actually quite helpful. If that is not enough detail, go to the main menu “Help>Documentation in pdf format” and download the manuals.
SPSS Coding Systems for Categorical Variables in Regression Analysis
Chris says: This website is a great explainer for what the different contrasts mean and the comparisons they make when you run a linear model in SPSS. It discusses the different coding options for recoding categorical variables (e.g. dummy coding or effect coding). I was extremely excited to find this resource!
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