Automating Analysis, Visualization, and Other Social Science Research Tasks

Abstract

The observation is made in several recent articles that relatively few social scientists are taking advantage of the numerous microcomputer tools that could aid in the accomplishment of social science. At the same time, the increasing degree of automation of software packages that form the computerized toolbox of the social scientists lessens the start-up and use costs of employing the software tools. The task of this paper is to introduce the social scientists to software packages that help manage the computerized desktop, do analysis and visualization, provide data/information storage and retrieval, help with results/document preparation, and allow automation across software packages and to do so in a social science context. Keywords: automation, visualization, computerized research, social science research methods, changing research methods, research process, computerized data analysis, software linkages, graphics, analytical graphics, presentation graphics, charting graphics, data storage, data retrieval.