We investigate experiences of first-year, non-science students with three data analysis tools during a pre-Calculus, introductory statistics course at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Students could choose between DataDesk, Excel or StatCrunch, and were required to use one of these packages to analyze data collected for a semester project. It was especially important to evaluate these software packages from the point of view of a first-time user with no previous experience in either Statistics or advanced computer usage; several students were at first somewhat apprehensive of using a computer to analyze data. Among other outcomes, this investigation led to the development of student-based comparison of three software packages, from the perspective of a large group of potential users.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education