One thing researchers should keep in mind is that graphs in research reports or articles, and even those shown in verbal presentations, are not meant for the author, but for the reader or the seminar audience. The line chart that a researcher uses in the data exploration phase—with default gridlines, tick marks, and colors—may not […]
Demetra+ is a free program provided by Eurostat and the National Bank of Belgium. The software provides a full set of tools for testing whether seasonality exists and then adjusting for it using either the X-12-ARIMA or the TRAMO/SEATS methods. Links: Download JDEMETRA+ (the most up to date version of Demetra+. It is written in […]
J is an obscure, but potentially very useful programming language for certain types of tasks. It’s a calculator language, and its specialty is manipulating arrays. J was created by some of the same people who made APL. Here’s a great primer on getting started with J, and here are some books on learning the language. You […]
Calculator is a program that comes with every Windows computer. It’s ok for the simplest of calculations, but it has a lot of limitations. For example, it doesn’t keep a history of your calculations and there is no way to keep it floating on top of the screen. SpeedCrunch is a good alternative to Calculator. […]
One simple but very handy program that comes with every Windows computer is Notepad. Notepad is an example of a plain text editor. Plain text editors are great for when you need to get rid of formatting from text you’ve copied over from a website. Also, if you need to copy and paste a lot […]
A computer algebra system (CAS) is software that can perform symbolic mathematics. There are two main types of math software: programs designed to do numerical calculations and programs that can manipulate symbols. The first group includes programs like MATLAB, GAUSS, GNU Octave, and Stata. The second group includes programs like Mathematica, Maple, and Maxima. A […]
A portable application is a program that can be run directly off of a USB key (this definition isn’t completely accurate though). Portable apps are great if your workplace computer is locked down and you’re blocked from installing software. LiberKey is a system for managing hundreds of portable applications for Windows computers. LiberKey and all […]
