Texas Tech University

Access to Approved Software

TTU IT provides resources to support researchers throughout the life of their human and non-human research projects.

Approved Software Tools by Category

Category of Human Subject Research Tools Name of Resource/ Technology Details Recommended Use
Data Management Tools

Research Data Management System

About Data Management

Texas Tech University Dataverse

Supported by University Libraries

Data Preservation and Management Over Time
Data Storage

OneDrive for Business

Supported by IT Help Central

Secure Data Storage

SharePoint Online

Supported by IT Help Central, Technology Support Services

Secure Data Storage
High Performance Computing (Very Large Data Processing)

HPCC Various Tools

HPCC Resources & Services

Supported by High Performance Computing

Research – Large Data Processing and Modeling
Quantitative Analysis

R

Running R Jobs on HPCC Resources

Supported by High Performance Computing

Statistical Analysis, Free for all Faculty, Staff, and Students

SAS

Request SAS Software

Supported by Technology Support Services

Statistical analysis, $120 per year

SPSS

Request SPSS Software

Supported by Technology Support Services

Statistical analysis, $170 per year; Students Free
Surveying Tools

Qualtrics

Not centrally supported

Surveying and Analysis for non-confidential data collection; Department/Researcher funds

RedCap

Request Access to RedCap

Supported by Technology Support Services

Additional Support by Project RedCap

Surveying and analysis, Free for Faculty, Staff, and Students

SurveyMonkey

Request Access to SurveyMonkey

Supported by Technology Support Services, Technology Support Enterprise Systems

Surveying and analysis, Free for Faculty, Staff, and Students

Microsoft Forms

Supported by IT Help Central

Surveying, part of Office 365 application set, Free for all Faculty, Students, and Staff
Video and Audio Collaboration – Virtual Interviews

Microsoft Teams

Supported by IT Help Central

Synchronous Activities Automated Transcription; Break-out Rooms; Free for all Faculty, Students, and Staff

Zoom

Supported by Technology Support Services

Synchronous Activities internal and external partners; Free for all Faculty, Students, and Staff

Zoom: Break-Out rooms

Supported by Technology Support Services

Synchronous Activity – Groups; Free for all Faculty, Students, and Staff

Mediasite

Supported by Technology Support Services

Video Content Delivery; Recording Studio; Free for all Faculty, Students, and Staff

Microsoft Skype: Recordings

Skype for Business Recording Instructions

Supported by IT Help Central

Synchronous Activities; Free for all Faculty, Students, and Staff

Video Transcription and Captioning Contracted Services

Vendor Contract Number Funding Source for Research Pricing Notes

3Play Media

77 N Washington St, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02114
617-764-5189
617-229-6297

C17651 Researcher
  • 4-calendar day turnaround = $1.75/min
  • 10-calendar day turnaround = $1.60/min

Site Licensed Software

Additional software is available as part of TTU site license agreements. Visit Technology Support Site License Software for more information.

Open Source Software

Securing Open Source Software Act (2022)

The United States Securing Open Source Software Act: What You Need to Know

The Act begins by defining terms we in the open source ecosystem may find interest in reviewing:

  • Open Source Software means "software for which the human-readable source code is made available to the public for use, study, re-use, modification, enhancement, and re-distribution."
  • Open Source Software Community means "the community of individuals, foundations, nonprofit organizations, corporations, and other entities that:
    • develop, contribute to, maintain, and publish open source software; or
    • otherwise work to ensure the security of the open source software ecosystem."
  • Open Source Software Component means "an individual repository of open source software that is made available to the public."

Open Source Software Challenges

Forbes, 2022

  • Lack Of Accountable Parties: Open-source projects are often delivered for free and with no expectations on either end of the transaction. That means if there's a security flaw in the project, no one can be held accountable for that flaw. You can't exactly sue someone for a defect in a digital product that they gave away for free.
  • Inexperienced Developers: Oftentimes, open-source projects are created by inexperienced developers who are looking for ways to gain industry experience before picking up a full-time job. This isn't always the case, but inexperienced developers do often lead to less secure projects.
  • Busy Developers: Other times, open-source projects are side projects or hobbies of people who are committed to full-time work somewhere else. If there is a problem with the code, they may not be able to address it for weeks, or even months.
  • Total Transparency: The transparency of open-source projects is a massive strength, but it can also be a weakness. When a bug is discovered, the entire community knows about it. If there is a massive security vulnerability, cybercriminals will learn how to exploit it quickly.

Guidelines (Forbes, 2022; CERN, 2022)

How To Use Open-Source Software Without Security Issues

  1. Choose the right projects. First, make sure you're choosing the right projects. Not all open-source projects are worth using; some are the product of more experienced, more responsible developers. Analyze the quality of the product and get to know the people who created it. And if there are multiple software options, compare them directly to figure out which one is superior.
  2. Analyze the risks and compensate for them. Every open-source project is going to come with some risks. Be sure to analyze those risks and find a way to compensate for them on your end.
  3. Tap into the power of the community. The open-source community is a huge strength, so take advantage of it. Ask lots of questions, work with experienced community programmers and contribute your own knowledge when you can.
  4. Track your dependencies. Keep meticulous track of all open-source dependencies in your software environment; these will be vital to address in the event of a newly identify security risk.
  5. Keep watch for patches, updates, and warnings. Stay plugged into the community to learn about new bugs, new patches, new updates and posted warnings. The sooner you act in response to these new threats, the better.

Virtual Interviews and Recordings

A note on human research virtual interviews and recordings:

While virtual interviews can be an efficient and secure way to collect human subjects' data, researchers must practice safe computing:

Additional Information

Most software requires acceptance of an End User License Agreement (EULA) at the time of installation. Per Operating Policy and Procedure 72.09(2.b) and Regents' Rules Chapter 07.12, employees and students, as well as departments and units, do not have authority to sign a EULA or any agreement on behalf of Texas Tech. Software license procurements and all related contract documents are reviewed by the TTU Office of the CIO, Procurement Services, and the Office of General Counsel and are approved and signed through the Office of Procurement Services.

Licensing Caution

Many "Personal," "Free," "Consumer," and "Trial" type of software packages forbid installation on organization-owned systems, including on systems owned by Texas Tech, without legitimately acquired and approved software license(s). In some cases, software packages are licensed at the Texas Tech University System level (i.e., Oracle, Ellucian) for software shared among Texas Tech System component institutions; other software packages are licensed at the institutional (TTU) level (i.e., Office 365, Blackboard, Adobe), and some software packages may be licensed by a department for a few systems or users.

TTU has been contacted in the last few years by several software vendors requesting an audit of appropriate use and licensing of their software on Texas Tech systems. Any software package, installed on a Texas Tech owned device, that is not properly licensed through the System, University, or your department is a violation of copyright laws and TTU policies, and must be removed immediately. Additionally, we ask that you review software installed on institutionally owned systems in your area/department and ensure that all software is properly licensed.

For questions regarding software licensed for campus use, please contact TTU IT Technology Support Licensing. For additional information, you may also contact IT Help Central at (806) 742-4357 (HELP) or ithelpcentral@ttu.edu. If you have questions about the procurement and contract process, please contact TTU Contracting.

IT Services for Researchers