Data analysis and graphing in an introductory physics laboratory: spreadsheet versus statistics suite

TL;DR

This study compares spreadsheet software and a statistics software suite for data analysis in introductory physics labs, evaluating their effectiveness across experiments involving linear, non-linear, and histogram data.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of spreadsheet and statistics software for physics lab data analysis, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations.

Findings

Spreadsheet software is more accessible for beginners.

Statistics suite offers more advanced analysis capabilities.

Both methods effectively analyze different types of data.

Abstract

Two methods of data analysis are compared: spreadsheet software and a statistics software suite. Their use is compared analyzing data collected in three selected experiments taken from an introductory physics laboratory, which include a linear dependence, a non-linear dependence, and a histogram. The merits of each method are compared.