Sussex Researcher School

IT Support


Based in the Shawcross Building, IT Services (ITS) offers computing support, facilities, and software for your own devices. There is additional support for researchers who need to store large volumes of data or require a high performance computing environment.

Read the IT Services Essential Guide to get your IT fully set up, with infomation on connecting to the campus wifi, registering a Zoom account, installing Microsoft Office and other useful tips. 

ITS also signposts training on using Microsoft Office applications and other popular software, including the top 10 courses for new students.

In this video Adrian Chorlton, former Senior Training Manager, provides some tips on getting free software for your own computer:

                                               [Read the transcript]


To find out more about ITS visit their Research Support webpage, like them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

What other software do you need?

This depends on your area of research. Two of the most popular applications are SPSS and NVivo:

  • SPSS – a statistical analysis package, commonly used in education, social sciences, and psychology.
  • NVivo – a qualitative data analysis package, used mainly in the social sciences.

The Researcher Development Programme provides access to training on both NVivo and SPSS. You can also view a recording of our webinar, Introduction to NVivo:


In addition to core software, there is also a range of apps and digital tools that can help you with your research. Here’s a recording of a webinar on Using Technology to Manage Your Research. During this session, Dr Catherine Pope introduced Zotero, Evernote, Scrivener, OneNote, Crashplan, and Google Docs:



Sussex Researcher School

E: researcher-school@sussex.ac.uk