PALYHELP is a suite of six programs (plus source code) from L.J. Maher, Jr. at the University of Wisconsin. These programs address common statistical questions in palynological and paleoecological research. Download PALYHELP, as a self-extracting executable file containing the six program suite.

All of the programs were written by L.J. Maher, Jr. and run on Microsoft Windows. Start the programs either by double-clicking the program name in Windows Explorer, or by running them from a DOS window.

The suite includes:

Program	Description/Reference
MOSITEST.EXE	Binomial and multinomial homogeneity tests for counts both inside and outside the pollen sum. The program yields a computed value of Chi-square and degrees of freedom. As in all such tests, avoid taxa with less than 5 grains. Mosimann, J.E. 1965. Statistical methods for the pollen analyst. Pages 636-673 in B. Kummel and D. Raup (editors). Handbook of Paleontological Techniques. Freeman and Company, San Francisco.
MOSLIMIT.EXE	Mosimann limits of proportions (P) and ratios (U). Mosimann, J.E. 1965. Statistical methods for the pollen analyst. Pages 636-673 in B. Kummel and D. Raup (editors). Handbook of Paleontological Techniques. Freeman and Company, San Francisco.
COMBINE.EXE	Method for combining N independent samples from a core and calculating confidence limits for the combined data. Procedure also gives Mean & Standard Deviation for the implied log normal distribution. How many samples you wish to average? You must choose a value greater or equal to 2. Will data be entered as 1) Confidence Limits or 2) Raw Sample Parameters? Answer gives: Upper Limit, Combined mean, Lower Limit. Maher, L.J., Jr. 1981. Statistics for microfossil concentration measurements employing samples spiked with marker grains. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 32:153-191.
CONCENTR.EXE	Confidence limits for pollen concentration for 0.95 limits (Z = 1.960) for 0.99 limits (Z = 2.576) enter rounding desired (100 for nearest 100; 0.1 for nearest tenth, etc.) How many marker tablets? How many grains/tablet? What is S.D. per tablet? How many sediment aliquots? How many cc/aliquot? What is s.d. per aliquot? How many grains of taxon X? How many marker grains? Answer given as: Upper limit, Mean, Lower limit. Maher, L.J., Jr. 1981. Statistics for microfossil concentration measurements employing samples spiked with marker grains. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 32:153-191.
NULCONC.EXE	A test of the hypothesis that the pollen concentration is the same in two different sediment samples given the concentration confidence limits for each sample that were determined by the addition of an exotic marker grain standard. Are the confidence limits of the samples 0.95 (Z = 1.960) or 0.99 (Z = 2.576)? What is the upper C.L. of the first sample? What is the lower C.L. of the first sample? What is the upper C.L. of the second sample? What is the lower C.L. of the second sample? On the basis of a computation, you are told to: ACCEPT Null Hypothesis at 0.05 level; REJECT NULL Hypothesis at 0.05 level; ACCEPT Null Hypothesis at 0.01 level; REJECT NULL Hypothesis at 0.01 level. Maher, L.J., Jr. 1981. Statistics for microfossil concentration measurements employing samples spiked with marker grains. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 32:153-191.
PAIRS.EXE	A program to compute the confidence limits for pollen concentration for two samples, make a null test, and calculate the confidence limits of the combined samples. Information about the Combined Samples: What value of Z do you wish? Z = 1.960 for 0.95 Limits, Z = 2.576 for 0.99 Limits. Enter Mean (comma) S.D. of Spike in Sample 1 Enter Mean (comma) S.D. of Spike in Sample 2 Enter Mean (comma) S.D. of Volume in Sample 1 Enter Mean (comma) S.D. of Volume in Sample 2 Enter Marker Count in Sample 1 Enter Marker Count in Sample 2 Enter Number of Grains of Taxon X in Sample 1 Enter Number of Grains of Taxon X in Sample 2 Accept/Reject Null at 0.05 Level. Accept/Reject Null at 0.01 Level. Confidence Limits (Z = 0.95 or 0.99) for combined samples: Upper Limit, Mean, Lower Limit. Maher, L.J., Jr. 1981. Statistics for microfossil concentration measurements employing samples spiked with marker grains. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 32:153-191.