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JASP

Software & tools

Definition

A free, open-source statistics package with an SPSS-like interface, offering both frequentist and Bayesian versions of common tests with APA-formatted output.

JASP is a free, open-source statistical package with an interface deliberately similar to SPSS, developed at the University of Amsterdam. It covers the standard analytical range — descriptives, t-tests, ANOVA, regression, factor analysis, reliability — and updates results live as options are changed.

Its distinctive feature is that every common analysis is available in both frequentist and Bayesian form. Bayes factors let a researcher quantify evidence for the null hypothesis rather than merely failing to reject it, which is a genuine advantage when a study finds no effect and needs to say something meaningful about it.

Output is formatted in APA style and copies directly into a thesis, saving substantial reformatting time. For students without an institutional SPSS licence it is the most straightforward free alternative, and its structural equation modelling and meta-analysis modules cover much of what a thesis typically needs.

Where it's used

  • A zero-cost alternative to SPSS for standard thesis analyses
  • Bayesian re-analysis alongside classical tests

Software used

JASP

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