Data Resources in the Health Sciences

Commonly used software for data analysis include:

• ArcGIS Desktop - http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcview
  • Geospatial data analysis tool
• Atlas.ti - http://www.atlasti.com/index.html
  • Qualitative analysis tool. Requires an individual subscription, students can receive discounted pricing: https://atlasti.com/students/
• dedoose - http://www.dedoose.com/
  • Cross-platform app for analyzing qualitative and mixed methods research with text, photos, audio, videos, spreadsheet data
• Epi Info - http://wwwn.cdc.gov/epiinfo/
  • A suite of lightweight software tools, delivers core ad-hoc epidemiologic functionality without the complexity or expense of large, enterprise applications.
• GNU PSPP - https://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/
  • Free program for statistical analysis of sampled data (similar to SPSS)
• MATLAB - http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab/
  • High-level language and interactive environment for numerical computation, visualization, and programming
• Microsoft Excel* - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/
  • Spreadsheet analysis
• NodeXL - http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/nodexl/
  • Open-source template for Microsoft® Excel® 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 for exploring network graphs; basic version is free.
• NVivo - https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-data-analysis-software/home/
  • Qualitative and mixed methods analysis tool. Requires an individual subscription.
• QCoder - https://github.com/ropenscilabs/qcoder
  • Lightweight package to do qualitative coding
• QDA Miner Lite - https://provalisresearch.com/products/qualitative-data-analysis-software/freeware/
  • Free version of QDA Miner, qualitative and mixed-methods software.
• QualCoder - https://qualcoder.wordpress.com/how-to-use/
  • QualCoder is free, open source software for qualitative data analysis.
• R* - http://cran.r-project.org/
  • A freely available language and environment for statistical computing and graphics which provides a wide variety of statistical and graphical techniques: linear and nonlinear modelling, statistical tests, time series analysis, classification, clustering, etc.
• Rayyan - https://rayyan.qcri.org/
  • Free tool for systematic reviewers to screen citations.
• RQDA - http://rqda.r-forge.r-project.org/
  • A free qualitative analysis software application.
• SPSS* - http://www-01.ibm.com/software/analytics/spss/
  • Predictive analytics software.
• Stata - http://www.stata.com
  • Data analysis and statistical software.
• Synapse - https://www.synapse.org
  • Platform for open collaborative analysis of clinical and genomics data.
• Taguette - https://www.taguette.org/
  • Free, open-source qualitative tool.

*may be available on some computers in the HSL Learning Commons

For UW affiliates, the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE)  provides Microsoft Windows Servers for general use computing through remote access. These permit anyone with a CSDE Windows Network account to sign into our file servers, access datasets, and run a wide selection of statistical software from anywhere in the world on a familiar Windows desktop environment.  Click to request a CSDE Computing Account.

Workshops about statistical software tools:

• At CSDE: https://csde.washington.edu/training/workshops/
• At the Center for Social Science Computation and Research (CSSCR): http://depts.washington.edu/csscr/courses/

A graphical representation can communicate complex research results in ways that can be more quickly and effectively understood. Data visualization engages viewers and thereby increases the capability for communicating research more effectively. Visualizations can also be used to improve understanding, analyze complex relationships, explore data to find new connections and improve decision making. Here are some links to Health Sciences related data visualization tools.

Some interesting tools for visualization are listed here.

• Census.gov Data Visualization - Gallery of data visualizations from US Census data
• Datawrapper - create charts from spreadsheets or tables, free
• Gapminder World - Create custom maps from world data on health and wealth
• IHME Data Visualization Tools - Interactive data visualizations from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
• Social Explorer Maps - Easy-to-use web interface for creating maps and reports to better illustrate and analyze demography and social change
• Tableau Public - free tool for visualizing data in a variety of formats/sources
• Tableau for Students - free one-year license for the full version
• Trifacta Wrangler - beta version free download: single user, local files only

Techniques:

• Do No Harm Guide: Applying Equity Awareness in Data Visualization - communicating data and data analysis with empathy