Computer Use in Research for Data Analysis

摘要

Data reported in various ways from several large field-scale research projects have been successfully incorporated into a structured format. This format is now required for all new projects that produce data in a machine-readable form. The database structure is general enough in design to accommodate a wide variety of project data scenarios. Remote entry of data from a research site (Thornton, Colorado) directly into the mainframe at NCC has been in progress for several months. The data handling system is user-friendly and versatile. Data reduction on hundreds of thousands of records can be accomplished efficiently. These records can be analyzed, summarized, and reported in a matter of hours. Canned programs and command procedures allow the user to create, examine, update, modify, subset, superset, and plot or print all or a portion of the records contained within the main database. Modifications of the canned programs to accommodate special or unique situations can be accomplished with little effort.