Using Data: Lab

Statistical consulting services are available to currently enrolled/employed members of Princeton University. The consultants provide statistical and software consulting for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty engaged in quantitative analysis of electronic data in a variety of academic disciplines. We assist in the choice, application, and interpretation of quantitative methods, and with the use of statistical software needed to implement these methods (Stata, SPSS and basic R).

The lab is very crowded from February to April with primarily juniors and seniors working on their junior paper or senior thesis. If you need extensive assistance, please come to the lab any other times of the year.

Location

The DSS computer lab is located at A-16-H-3 in Firestone Library, in the back of Social Science Reference Center, by the Industrial Relations section.

Hours

The lab is open when Firestone Library is open. If you would like to use lab computers and do not need assistance, you may come in anytime when the library is open. Assistance is provided during the staffed hours listed below. If you need assistance but can not come during the staffed hours, please email data@princeton.edu . When requesting an appointment, and to make the most out of it, please provide as much information as possible so we can better plan a way to help you.

DUE MOSTLY TO TEACHING COMMITMENTS DSS LAB WON'T BE STAFFED ON NOV. 16, 18, 23, 26 (Thanksgiving), 27, 30 and DEC 4.

For last minute information on the status of the DSS lab please check DSS staff status

Making the most from the consultation

At an earlier stage in your research:


• Have a feasible research question, click here for some tips on crafting research questions
• Try to locate the data you need, click here for some tips on finding data
• Identify the variables to answer your research question.
• Use the coodebook to understand your data

During or at a later stage in your research:


• Make sure your advisor is on board and approves what you want to do. Remember, he or she will grade your work!
• DSS consultants can guide you throughout your research but you are responsible for what goes into your paper.
• Have a plan for your project as a whole. A written time-line and "to-do" list will be veryhelpful. During busy times, consultants may not be able to give as much personalized attention, so knowing specifically what you need to ask will make your time more efficient.
• Keep a log of everything you do related to your research, even steps that did not work. This will come in handy by the time you write the final version of your paper and, most importantly, the methodology section.

Contact

We do not provide telephone support, and the lab phone number is not publicly available. If you would like to ask questions but can not come to the lab, please email your questions to data@princeton.edu from your princeton email address. The assistance can only be provided to current Princeton members who have a valid Princeton email address.

Available Programs

Hardware

• 10 Windows XP stations
• 1 Scanner

Software

• Office 2003
• OmniPage 15
• Stata 9.2 & 10.1
• SPSS 15, 16, & 17
• SAS 9.1
• S-Plus 8.1
• R 2.9.2
• MatLab R2009b
• DBMS/Copy 8
• WinZip 10.0
• Adobe Reader 9
• Mozila Firefox 3.5.3
• SSH Secure Shell 3.2.9
• Hummingbird Exceed

Lab Consulting Report

View lab usage statistics.