Tuesday, January 11, 2011

What is OASIS?

OASIS stands for Online Analysis and Statistical Information System. The project is funded by The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati as a way to make the results of research more accessible to its grantees and the general public.

OASIS contains a wide variety of data sources, including the Ohio and Kentucky Health Issues Polls, the Community Health Status Survey, and the Student Drug Use Survey, among many others.

OASIS is made up of three main components: In the Guided Analysis feature, which is intended for novice statistical users, OASIS automatically chooses the appropriate statistical procedures for analyzing user-selected variables. The User-Defined Analysis feature of OASIS allows more experienced statistical users to select the type of analysis they wish to perform on selected variables. OASIS' Mapping component uses GIS (geographic information system) software to generate maps that analyze and present information that is tied to locations on the surface of the earth.

OASIS puts powerful analysis tools in the hands of the general public by allowing users to perform sophisticated data analysis without needing statistical software on their computers. Getting started with OASIS is simple. Go to http://www.oasisdataarchive.org/, register for an account, and log in. Once logged in, you will have access to a large amount of data from local and state health surveys. In addition to the online user interface, OASIS provides data in several different formats, allowing users to download data for their own personal use in programs such as SAS and SPSS. OASIS is free to all users.

No comments:

Post a Comment