Statistical software

Statistical software plays a vital role in the analysis of medical research and a tool to communicate the results of the research effectively. Statistical software application programs provide a set of statistical toolboxes that may be used to analyze data and improve the expression of data into beautiful plots and graphs. As data sets for clinical and preclinical studies become increasingly complex, it has become increasingly important for researchers to develop familiarity and facility with statistical software packages. While each package has unique capabilities, ultimately it is individual experience and familiarity that often drives software selection. In this chapter, we summarize the most commonly used statistical packages and provide a summary of their relative advantages and disadvantages. We also present a survey of the frequency of each software package's use in Interventional Radiology research.