R and SPSS difference

Question

I will be analysing vast amount of network traffic related data shortly, and will pre-process the data in order to analyse it. I have found that R and SPSS are among the most po

Answer 1

There are some great responses above, but I will try to provide my 2 cents. My department completely relies on SPSS for our work, but in recent months, I have been making a conscious effort to learn R; in part, for some of the reasons itemized above (speed, vast data structures, available packages, etc.)

That said, here are a few things I have picked up along the way:

1. Unless you have some experience programming, I think creating summary tables in CTABLES destroys any available option in R. To date, I am unaware package that can replicate what can be created using Custom Tables.

2. SPSS does appear to be slower when scripting, and yes, SPSS syntax is terrible. That said, I have found that scipts in SPSS can always be improved but using the EXECUTE command sparingly.

3. SPSS and R can interface with each other, although it appears that it's one way (only when using R inside of SPSS, not the other way around). That said, I have found this to be of little use other than if I want to use ggplot2 or for some other advanced data management techniques. (I despise SPSS macros).

4. I have long felt that "reporting" work created in SPSS is far inferior to other solutions. As mentioned above, if you can leverage LaTex and Sweave, you will be very happy with your efficient workflows.

5. I have been able to do some advanced analysis by leveraging OMS in SPSS. Almost everything can be routed to a new dataset, but I have found that most SPSS users don't use this functionality. Also, when looking at examples in R, it just feels "easier" than using OMS.

In short, I find myself using SPSS when I can't figure it out quickly in R, but I sincerely have every intention of getting away from SPSS and using R entirely at some point in the near future.