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

Fri Nov 22 19:09:21 UTC 2013

Hi Minh and all,

While SPSS was completely inaccessible a few years ago, this is no
longer true - I have been using it for the past five years on a
regular basis and can do almost everything independently. Mary is
right that the accessibility set-up procedure can be a bit cumbersome,
but this has gotten significantly better since version 21. The
software license does cost quite a bit of money though (as a graduate
student, I just paid $95 for a one-year license), so if you are only
going to need the software for this one class then it might not be a
worthwhile investment. I'm a big fan of Excel, but based on my
experience it will most likely not be sufficient for a stats class you
would take for your sociology major. Arielle sent around a link to a
free, accessible stats calculator a little while ago on this list,
which is supposed to be quite useful and might be something worth
looking into (if you search the archives of this list for "SPSS" the
thread should come up).

If you do end up tackling SPSS and have any specific questions, please
feel free to contact me off-list - I would be happy to share the
work-arounds and tips I have learned with you.  It might be nice to
enlist assistance from a reader when you are getting acquainted with
the software, but once you figure out the basics you probably won't
need much sighted help (except for when you are creating charts and
graphs, of course). Hope this helps and best of luck!

Katie

On 11/22/13, Mary Fernandez <trillian551 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Minh and all,
> SPSS is accessible. However, it is a bit of a cumbersome, involved
> program for everyone who uses it. Talk to the IT people, they must
> install SPSS, Jaws and the Java accessibility bridge. at that point,
> it'll be up to you to get a good understanding of the software before
> the beginning of the semester. I don't believe in separate but equal
> when there is a way to use the same software as everyone else. SPSS
> isn't perfect but it works. As an additional accommodation, you might
> want to work with a reader when running and reading your stat
> analysis. A reader can be there to make sure that you have clicked
> everything you intended to, and that you are reading what you think
> you are reading. They should only serve as a pair of extra eyes while
> you get your barings and are confident that you are gleaning all the
> information that is being shown on screen.
> Arielle is the expert on SPSS and always encourages contact.
> Thanks.
> Mary
>
> On 11/21/13, Patrick Molloy <ptrck.molloy at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 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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>
>
> --
> Mary Fernandez
> "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will
> forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them
> feel."
> —
> Maya Angelou
>
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