In addition to statistical analysis, data management (case selection, file reshaping, creating derived data) and data documentation (a metadata dictionary is stored in the datafile) are features of the base software. The original SPSS manual (Nie, Bent & Hull, 1970) has been described as one of 'sociology's most influential books' for allowing ordinary researchers to do their own statistical analysis. It is also used by market researchers, health researchers, survey companies, government, education researchers, marketing organizations, data miners, and others. SPSS is a widely used program for statistical analysis in social science.

The software name originally stood for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences ( SPSS), reflecting the original market, then later changed to Statistical Product and Service Solutions. Current versions (post 2015) have the brand name: IBM SPSS Statistics. Long produced by SPSS Inc., it was acquired by IBM in 2009. SPSS Statistics is a statistical software suite developed by IBM for data management, advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, and criminal investigation.

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