Microcomputer statistics packages for biomedical scientists: Opinion

1. There are hundreds of commercially available microcomputer statistics packages, ranging from the very cheap and elementary to the very expensive and complex, and from the very general to the very specialized, This review covers only those that appear to be popular with biomedical investigators who deal with fairly small sets of data but may wish to use relatively complex analytical techniques. 2. It is highly desirable, if not essential, that biomedical investigators who use microcomputer statistics packages have access to a spreadsheet program. These provide sample statistics and simple statistical analyses but, more importantly, they are often the best way of entering data into the files of the statistics packages proper. 3. A vital component of any statistics package is its manual. This should be easy to follow, but at the same time it must provide full documentation of, and references to, precisely how the various statistical tests are performed. 4. Some packages are elementary and offer only a narrow range of test procedures (mini-packages). Some are designed to be used as statistical libraries and programming tools for professional statisticians. Between these extremes are the general purpose packages (mid-range, maxi- and supermaxi-packages) that constitute the main body of this review. 5. All the packages reviewed have some shortcomings or flaws. It is argued that the ideal package for biomedical investigators should have the following features: (i) it should provide a wide range of test procedures for analysing continuous, rank-ordered, and categorical data; (ii) the way in which these tests are carried out should be clearly stated in the manual; and (iii) lastly, although not unimportantly, the package should be easy to use. 6. It is recommended that biomedical investigators purchase a package that provides many more statistical routines than they use in their everyday practice, Provided the manual is a good one and the package itself has no serious flaws, this is an excellent stimulus to continuing education In statistical techniques.