Simple Analysis Techniques

A relatively recent data analysis trend is to examine clickstreams on the Internet: which pages you visit, how long, what you click on, the frequency of clicks, which pages you came from, and which pages you go to. Clickstream analyses look at correlations and patterns in online behavior. Take note, clickstreams do not say anything about the motives behind the behavior or who the person is. Nevertheless, the data is so extensive that the patterns still provide valuable information. In this section of the book, we will learn about the most common quantitative analysis methods. Our examples are done in IBM SPSS Statistics software. Basic statistics can be done in Excel, although it has the disadvantage of not being a dedicated statistics software so it is, relatively speaking, quite limited. Other popular software are JMP, SAS, and Stata. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Often, different scientific domains or even geographic areas favor different software. It is wise to consider where and with whom you will be working before deciding on which software to use. One important distinguishing characteristic is whether a software has a windows-based point and click interface or whether it requires syntax-based programming. While point and click may be intuitively easier, syntax-based programming has the advantage of leaving a clear trail of how the analysis was conducted. One does not always remember what choices were made in the point and click environment. SPSS is a windows-based point and click software, though it can be programmed with syntax. To leave a trail of what choices were made, when in an SPSS dialogue box, clicking on “paste” will generate a syntax file of the requested analysis. On the book’s website, you can get the data for the examples in each software format.