Back to Political Science


Finding Data


Getting Accounts


SAS Questions


SPSS Questions

All political science grad students should sign up for three computer accounts:

1) Arts and Sciences Network Faculty, grad students, and staff are eligible to receive accounts on the college-wide network; all computers in the department (including those in the lab) are wired to the network, and one can only use these computers with a network account. Students who begin coursework during the fall semester should receive their accounts within the first week or two of the semester, giving them access to all the software on the network, including: MS Office, Corel Office Suite, SAS, SPSS, and Internet applications. Additionally, the account entitles users to their own folder (directory) on the network's hard drive, which is regularly backed up. If you are a political science graduate student and do not have an account, you must ask Beverly or Robin to set one up for you.

2) POP Mail POP (Post Office Protocol) is the recommended and supported e-mail system on campus. With this system, mail that is sent to you from another person is stored on the POP server in McVey hall. When you check your mail using software like Eudora (the University-supported software) or Netscape Mail, you download the mail from the POP server to your local machine (or, in our case, to your folder on the local network). You edit mail on your local machine; when you send it your e-mail software connects to the POP server and sends it off. Students can apply for this account (and the accounts below) online. Faculty and staff must fill out a request for an account (available from Beverly) and take it to User Account services in 113 McVey Hall (257-2217).

3) Convex Metasystem The Convex system is a network of powerful HP's linked together and managed by a mainframe-like computer called the Convex. Students who have especially large or difficult statistical jobs will almost certainly need an account for this system. The Convex system uses a Unix Operating System; new users will need a bit of study to learn this OS.

Additionally, students may want to build their own web site. T.A.'s and R.A.'s can get an account on the University's web server, and we can create a sbudirectory and URL for their site within the Department's. Other grad students can store their web site on the University's SAC machine; the university will assign the URL's on this server. Like the Convex system, both of these computers are Unix-based.