Hi everyone,

Since I started my PhD about 24 months ago (I have 24 months left), I've been using SigmaPlot for my graphs and statistics. I find it ok in terms of the results it gives me, but rather cumbersome in terms of entering data, and also pretty inflexible. I have used GraphPad Prism a little in the past, and much preferred it, but it wasn't available. However, my whole faculty has just been given access to Prism, so I'm wondering what to do. Do I change to the programme which I much prefer, but have to redo all my graphs? Or do I save time by sticking with SigmaPlot, even though I don't really like it?

Any suggestions?

Matt

Hi Matt,

I would say, make a weighted list of pros and cons. It all depends on how much data you have, how mature is your research (perhaps you can judge it by the quality of your work in terms of publications or publication-quality e.g.) and what will be the value addition of the new software. So, simply list the benefits and problems with both approaches. Now give each of these a number on a scale, say 1-10. Add and subtract them and see if the answer is something which makes sense to yourself. And since this is a general question and might be very important for others too, please do let us know on the forum what was your choice and if it worked for you later on.

Cheers