Commercial data analysis software has been a fixture of quantitative analyses in education for more than three decades. Despite its apparent widespread use there is no formal evidence cataloging what software is used in educational research and educational statistics classes, by whom and for what purpose, and whether some programs should be recommended over others. This paper argues that the rise of the R data analysis software has intensified the need for rigorous evaluations of these programs to identify their strengths and weaknesses in ways that provide educators with guidance in choosing programs. Examples of research activities to produce a literature to guide these choices are described.