[nabs-l] StatisticalPackage for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software

[Patrick Molloy]

Hi Minh,
Funny you should mention SPSS, as I recently posted about it on this
list. You're right to wonder about its accessibility. From what I've
read here and what I experienced, I'd say go with Excel. SPSS is
SUPPOSEDLY accessible in its latest version and with the latest
version of JAWS. From what I've heard though, it's a very graphical
program, so you'll wind up exporting things INTO Excel anyway. Excel
is very good about statistical calculations if you're willing to sit
down and play with it a little bit. So, long story short, see what you
can do with Excel and if all else fails, THEN try SPSS. I'm slightly
biased, since I had a bad experience or 2 with SPSS.
Hope this Helps,
Patrick

On 11/21/13, Ryan Silveira <ryan.l.silveira at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Minh and Emily,
>
> While I'm definitely not one who would take stats unless I absolutely had
> to, I've done some research on the accessibility of SPSS for some friends.
> As far as I know, SPSS has yet to become even remotely accessible with JAWS
> or any other screen reader.  I know that it presents a lot of difficulties
> to a lot of blind and visually impaired people who either use it on the job
> or in school.  There are some other alternatives which are not nearly as
> good or as reputable as SPSS (because let's face it, sometimes these
> programs are used more for their reputation than for their actual
> productivity and feasibility), but they might be better alternatives for you
> if your professor is looking for something more "involved" than Excell.  It
> is important that your professor understands that you really cannot use SPSS
> and that he or she be willing to allow you to use an alternative software
> which would allow you to do the same work and with the same level of
> expectations as all of the other students.  If you like, I can do some
> further research on software that would work for you and we can talk further
> off-list.  In the mean time, I think Emily's Excell solution is probably
> your best bet.  If you're having difficulties with your professor, see if
> you can't persuade your school's disability services people to help you.  I
> hope this is helpful.
>
> Take Care,
> Ryan
>
>
> On Nov 21, 2013, at 8:32 PM, "Emily Pennington" <emilypennington at fuse.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi, Minh.
>> I'm in my second semester of Stats, and I really like it. Fortunately for
>> me, our class is business-based, and we only use Excel, which works
>> 99.9237%
>> of the time. I know your professor has already designated software
>> package,
>> but if you're having real trouble, Excel is a great avenue to perform
>> most
>> statistical functions, and most Stats professors know their way around
>> Excel.
>> If you come across any formula questions with Excel, I'd be happy to talk
>> some more with you off-list. I'm definitely not an expert by any means,
>> but
>> I've got a nice system down after nearly two semesters, and it's a
>> fascinating subject.
>>
>> Take care,
>> Emily
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of minh ha
>> Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2013 9:23 PM
>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nabs-l] StatisticalPackage for the Social Sciences (SPSS)
>> software
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I am taking statistics next semester which is a required course for my
>> sociology major. I spoke with the professor and he said that the main
>> component of the course involves doing work with the StatisticalPackage
>> for
>> the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. I was wondering if any of you have
>> had
>> experience with this software and know whether it is accessible or not?
>> I'm
>> just nervous that it's not accessible and I won't be able to perform any
>> of
>> the assignments.
>> Thanks for any help you can give.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Minh
>>
>> --
>> "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty
>> recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
>> but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their
>> dreams with open eyes, to make them possible." T. E. Lawrence
>>
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