244 COMPUTER STATISTICAL PROGRAM RESOURCES
But away from academic settings there is a need for both students and experienced
researchers to access and prepare computer-based statistical analyses. Students can
explore and extend their classroom experience on individual low-cost computers using
individual and more-limited versions of the classroom computer program resources.
Researchers can afford stand-alone computers and statistical software programs for
their office work on all but major databases.
The range and capabilities of computer hardware and operating systems have
expanded greatly. In the 1950s large computers in glass-enclosed rooms were the
rule. By the 1960s and 1970s smaller computers were taking hold, especially in aca-
demic and research settings. The 1980s brought the first personal desktop computers
with raster-display screens that facilitated graphical analyses. By the mid- 1990s
small business and personal computer users were using operating systems such as
UNIX/Linux, Microsoft DOS/Windows, and Apple Macintosh 0s 8 and 9, and on-
line access via the rapidly expanding Internet. In this current decade, Microsoft XP
pro, UNIXLinux, and Apple MAC 0s X are commonly used operating systems.
C.2 A BRIEF INDICATION OF STATISTICS COMPUTER PROGRAM
ADVANCES AND SOME RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS SINCE
2000A publication of the American Statistical Association, The American Statistician,
has provided a wide range of materials for practicing statisticians and students for
many years, typically in four publication issues totaling several hundred pages a
year. Submitted papers cover a range of topics, including statistical practice, teaching
materials, and computing and graphics resources. Reviews of published books cover a
similar range. The Section Editor obtains and provides reviews of statistical software
packages and provides historical background and insightful comment. The regular
section on statistical computing software reviews provides valuable information and
analysis of available computing software. (The Section Editor has noted that by
November 2006 some 23 general-purpose statistical software systems were available).
A small sampling of items is provided here from The American Statistician over
the nine years 2000 through 2008. The items are relevant to choosing and using
statistical computing program systems and are focused where possible on their use in
biomedical/public health fields. The sample illustrates both the growth of computing
capabilities and the broad scope of the field. The items selected here also attempt
some relevance toward the “basic statistics” and “primer” contexts of this book.
The entries below begin with the present time and progress backward to 2000.
(Note that Joseph M. Hilbe, Section Editor, is identified as Hilbe in general discus-
sions.)
Items labeled as “book review” or “statistical software package review” include
a listing of the reviewer following the author(s), publisher and date of publication.
Those labeled as “article” represent papers for The American Statistician.