Abstract & Overview
Using the computer to process data has become so indispensable to business and government that it is now being taught in an inchoate form to nearly all social science students. The principal reason the computer has become so important is obvious: the machine makes it possible to process large quantities of data quickly, conveniently, and accurately. Thus, knowing how to use the computer is essential for social scientists because they often are employed by public officials and agencies that increasingly are being required by law and administrative necessity to collect, retrieve, analyze, and ingest vast amounts of data.