Topic 2: Introduction to Minitab (Week 2)
Aims
Objectives
To be able to open Minitab
To be familiar with the terms 'Data Window', 'Session Window' and 'Worksheet'
To be able to enter data into Minitab from the keyboard
To be able to save a worksheet to disk and subsequently retrieve it.
In order to learn about statistics, it is important that you can perform statistical calculations quickly and without the drudgery of using a hand calculator. This course makes extensive use of the statistical program Minitab, which is made available to you under the terms of the site licence held by the University.
The first thing to do is to gain access to
Minitab. You can do this in one of two
ways (actually, you can do both and while this might be useful it could also be
confusing!). You can install Minitab on your own PC. Alternatively you can run Minitab from the
University through your web browser using the Remote Applications Server
(RAS). This is a pilot service which is
described in a document
from ISS and on the RAS web
pages themselves.
Installing on your PC
The first alternative is to install Minitab on your PC. To do this you need the CD and some security and serial numbers. These should have been sent to you by ISS, probably by email. You will have needed to complete an application form and you should have been emailed about this earlier in the summer. Once you have these you can install the program by placing the CD in the computer and following the instructions on the screen.
Once the program is installed you can
learn how to use Minitab by following the Minitab Tutorial that is supplied
with the program. How you do this depends a little on your operating
system: for Windows XP click on Start on the task bar, then go to All Programs and then on MINITAB 14. This will give you a choice which includes Minitab tutorials. The program itself can be run by selecting MINITAB 14,
with the blue icon.
Using RAS
In order to run RAS you first need to
install a small piece of software on your machine. Once you have installed the Citrix software
on your computer, as described on the RAS web pages,
you point your browser to ras.ncl.ac.uk and
log on using your University Windows password.
Once logged on you point to the folder named ‘Statistical Software’
and click on it (a single click – this icon is actually a web link). This will bring up a window that will include
an icon for Minitab 14. Click on this
(again just one click) and Minitab should start to run. Run this way, Minitab is actually running on
a University computer. In particular,
when you ask Minitab to do something that requires a file to be accessed, for
example to get some previously saved data, you should notice that the file
locations include drives on your University file store (such as the H: drive) as
well as on your own computer.
Run in this way you cannot run Minitab
tutorials in the same way that can when you install Minitab on your own
machine. However, you can run Minitab
tutorials from within Minitab by clicking on Help on the menu bar and then on Tutorials.
RAS or own installation?
This
is largely a matter of taste. RAS
describes itself as a ‘Pilot service’ but it seems pretty stable to
me. Running Minitab over RAS is very
impressive. I have experience of both
ways. Installing Minitab is not a great
nuisance and you do not get away without installing a program for RAS (although
that is very trivial). On the other
hand, Minitab run over RAS is very impressive.
I do the latter from home and it works very well. I have a broadband connection but colleagues
still using dial-up say it works well that way too. During the course you may well want to do a
Minitab session and sit and think at the terminal and this could become
expensive if your web connection is charged per minute. The RAS webpages mention
a method of running RAS without having to install the Citrix software but I
have no experience of using this.
Minitab is designed for users to be able to teach themselves how to use the program with the help of the on-line material. There is also material on the manufacturer’s website, www.minitab.com. However, some additional documents have been prepared specially for this course. This allows particular emphasis to be placed on the items that are used in the course, and to pay less attention to those aspects we do not need. It may be best to try these documents to start with, turning to the on-line material if you feel the need to consolidate your knowledge.
When learning Minitab, you should keep two things in mind.
The additional documents cover the following: