Software gets to grips with statistics

Available now from Adept Scientific is the seventh full commercial edition of GenStat statistical analysis software developed by VSN International.

Available now from Adept Scientific is the seventh full commercial edition of GenStat statistical analysis software developed by VSN International.

Statistical analysis can be a daunting task, but GenStat 7 for Windows makes it very straightforward, for nonspecialists as well as for specialist statisticians, through its clear and comprehensive menu interface.

It's a flexible and convenient statistical system that allows users to summarise, analyse and display data in a variety of attractive and informative ways.

GenStat has a pedigree going back more than 30 years and is used by scientists, researchers, analysts, academics and educators in more than 80 countries around the world.

Its great strength comes from having been designed by statisticians - GenStat menus have a consistent "analyse - check assumptions - save details" approach throughout to help users think logically and interactively about their data analysis.

In this way, the software promotes good statistical practice.

And unlike many other statistics systems, which are sold in modules, GenStat is a "complete" package that can work in a wide range of industrial or academic applications and there are no extra costs for specialist modules or addon packages.

GenStat lets users manage and illustrate all forms of data with graphics such as histograms, box plots, scatter plots, line graphs, trellis plots, contour and three-dimensional surface plots.

It provides the tools to summarise and compare data using tabular reports, fitted distributions, and standard tests and then transform data using a general calculation facility with a wide range of mathematical and statistical functions.

GenStat leads the way when it comes to testing relationships between variables using a wide array of linear, generalised linear or nonlinear regression models and identifying patterns in data by means of multivariate techniques.

GenStat also provides a range of accurate tools for time series analysis (Box-Jenkins models or spectral analysis), variance analysis and spatial patterns analysis (using Kriging or spatial point processes).

And now the new release offers powerful additions to GenStat's range of statistical techniques as well as an abundance of usability enhancements in areas such as user interface, graphics and data management.

Roger Payne, Chief Science and Technology Officer at VSN International, believes: "The 7th Edition reinforces GenStat's traditional strengths, and extends them to benefit new areas such as six sigma and climatology".

"For example, many new menus have been added to GenStat's existing facilities for survival analysis and for the analysis of surveys, and its leading-edge facilities for fitting linear mixed models now include very flexible menus for prediction".

"Also, new menus have been added to produce the graphs required for statistical process control, and to analyse circular data such as wind directions".

New feature highlights include: enhanced graphics offering consistent, interactive, presentation quality images; six sigma capabilities that let users plot control charts, print Pareto tables and calculate capability statistics; users can design and analyse experiments, from one-way analysis of variance to complex multistratum designs, using a balanced-ANOVA or a REML approach (including the modelling of correlation structures); improved survival and survey analysis lets users analyse results from stratified or from unstructured surveys; and an enhanced user interface and new tutorials to help new users get up and running quickly.

Adept Scientific will be working closely with VSN International to supply and support GenStat statistical software in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the USA.

Adept's Managing Director, Paul Bragg said: "We've developed a reputation for supplying our customers with the very best in technical computing solutions".

"GenStat is a well established, leading statistical tool and we're sure it will make an important addition to our software offering".

Alan Draper, VSN International's Sales Director is equally enthusiastic, saying: "Adept Scientific is a company I have long admired and I am delighted that we will now be working together".

"We are confident that Adept Scientific will deliver the outstanding level of service that GenStat users have become accustomed to".

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