Stata tutorial university of princeton

Getting Started in Data Analysis
using Stata 10
(ver. 5.8)

Oscar Torres-Reyna
Data Consultant
otorres@princeton.edu

December 2007 (first draft)

http://dss.princeton.edu/training/

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Stata Tutorial Topics
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What is Stata?
Stata screen and general description
First steps:
 Setting the working directory (pwd and cd ….)
 Log file (log using …)
 Memory allocation (set mem …)
 Do-files (doedit)
 Opening/saving a Stata datafile
 Quick way of finding variables
 Subsetting (using conditional “if”)
 Stata color coding system
From SPSS/SAS to Stata
Example of a dataset in Excel
From Excel to Stata (copy-and-paste, *.csv)
Describe and summarize
Rename
Variable labels
Adding value labels
Creating new variables (generate)
Creating new variables from other variables (generate)
Recoding variables (recode)
Recoding variables using egen
Changing values (replace)
Indexing (using _n and _N)
 Creating ids and ids by categories
 Lags and forward values
 Countdown and specific values
Sorting (ascending and descending order)
Deleting variables (drop)
Dropping cases (drop if)
Extracting characters from regular expressions

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Merge
Append
Merging fuzzy text (reclink)
Frequently used Stata commands
Exploring data:
 Frequencies (tab, table)
 Crosstabulations (with test for associations)
 Descriptive statistics (tabstat)
Examples of frequencies and crosstabulations
Three way crosstabs
Three way crosstabs (with average of a fourth variable)
Creating dummies
Graphs
 Scatterplot
 Histograms
 Catplot (for categorical data)
 Bars (graphing mean values)
Data preparation/descriptive statistics(open a different
file): http://dss.princeton.edu/training/DataPrep101.pdf
Linear Regression (open a different file):
http://dss.princeton.edu/training/Regression101.pdf
Panel data (fixed/random effects) (open a different
file): http://dss.princeton.edu/training/Panel101.pdf
Multilevel Analysis (open a different file):
http://dss.princeton.edu/training/Multilevel101.pdf
Time Series (open a different file):
http://dss.princeton.edu/training/TS101.pdf
Useful sites (links only)
 Is my model OK?
 I can’t read the output of my model!!!
 Topics in Statistics
 Recommended books
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What is Stata?
• It is a multi-purpose statistical package to help you explore, summarize and
analyze datasets.
• A dataset is a collection of several pieces of information called variables (usually
arranged by columns). A variable can have one or several values (information for
one or several cases).
• Other statistical packages are SPSS, SAS and R.
• Stata is widely used in social science research and the most used statistical
software on campus.
Features

Stata

SPSS

SAS

R

Learning curve

Steep/gradual

Gradual/flat

Pretty steep

Pretty steep

User interface

Programming/point-and-click

Mostly point-and-click

Programming

Programming

Very strong

Moderate

Very strong

Very strong

Powerful

Powerful

Powerful/versatile

Powerful/versatile

Very good

Very good

Good

Excellent

Affordable (perpetual
licenses, renew only when
upgrade)

Expensive (but not need to
renew until upgrade, long
term licenses)

Expensive (yearly
renewal)

Open source
(free)

Data manipulation
Data analysis
Graphics
Cost

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This is the Stata screen…

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and here is a brief description …

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First steps: Working directory
To see your working directory, type
pwd
. pwd
h:statadata

To change the working directory to avoid typing the whole path when
calling or saving files, type:
cd c:mydata
. cd c:mydata
c:mydata

Use quotes if the new directory has blank spaces, for example
cd “h:stata and data”
. cd "h:stata and data"
h:stata and data
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First steps: log file
Create a log file, sort of Stata’s built-in tape recorder and where you can:
1) retrieve the output of your work and 2) keep a record of your work.
In the command line type:
log using mylog.log
This will create the file ‘mylog.log’ in your working directory. You can
read it using any word processor (notepad, word, etc.).
To close a log file type:
log close
To add more output to an existing log file add the option append, type:
log using mylog.log, append
To replace a log file add the option replace, type:
log using mylog.log, replace
Note that the option replace will delete the contents of the previous
version of the log.
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First steps: set the correct memory allocation
If you get the following error message while opening a datafile or adding
more variables:
no room to add more observations
An attempt was made to increase the number of observations beyond what is currently possible.
following alternatives:

You have the

1.

Store your variables more efficiently; see help compress.
rectangle; Stata can trade off width and length.)

2.

Drop some variables or observations; see help drop.

3.

Increase the amount of memory allocated to the data area using the set memory command; see help memory.

(Think of Stata's data area as the area of a

You need to set the correct memory allocation for your data or the maximun
number of variable allowed. Some big datasets need more memory,
depending on the size you can type, for example:
set mem 700m
. set mem 700m
Current memory allocation
settable
set maxvar
set memory
set matsize

current
value
5000
700M
400

description
max. variables allowed
max. data space
max. RHS vars in models

Note: If this does not work try a bigger number.

memory usage
(1M = 1024k)
1.909M
700.000M
1.254M
703.163M

*To allow more variables type set maxvar 10000
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First steps: do-file
Do-files are ASCII files that contain of Stata commands to run specific
procedures.
It is highly recommended to use do-files to store your commands so do
you not have to type them again should you need to re-do your work.
You can use any word processor and save the file in ASCII format or you
can use Stata’s ‘do-file editor’ with the advantage that you can run the
commands from there. Type:
doedit

Check the following site for more info on do-files: http://www.princeton.edu/~otorres/Stata/
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First steps: Opening/saving Stata files (*.dta)
To open files already in Stata with extension *.dta, run Stata and you can either:
• Go to file->open in the menu, or
• Type use “c:mydatamydatafile.dta”
If your working directory is already set to c:mydata, just type
use mydatafile
To save a data file from Stata go to file – save as or just type:
save, replace
If the dataset is new or just imported from other format go to file –> save as or
just type:
save mydatafile /*Pick a name for your file*/
For ASCII data please see http://dss.princeton.edu/training/DataPrep101.pdf
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First steps: Quick way of finding variables (lookfor)
You can use the command lookfor to find variables in a dataset, for example you
want to see which variables refer to education, type:
lookfor educ
. lookfor educ
variable name
educ

storage display
type
format
byte

%10.0g

value
label

variable label
Education of R.

lookfor will look for the keyword ‘educ’ in the variable name and labels. You
will need to be creative with your keyword searches to find the variables you
need.
It always recommended to use the codebook that comes with the dataset to
have a better idea of where things are.

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First steps: Subsetting using conditional ‘if’
Sometimes you may want to get frequencies, crosstabs or run a model just for a
particular group (lets say just for females or people younger than certain age).
You can do this by using the conditional ‘if’, for example:
/*Frequencies of var1 when gender = 1*/
tab var1 if gender==1, column row
/*Frequencies of var1 when gender = 1 and age < 33*/
tab var1 if gender==1 & age<33, column row
/*Frequencies of var1 when gender = 1 and marital status = single*/
tab var1 if gender==1 & marital==2 | marital==3 | marital==4, column row
/*You can do the same with crosstabs: tab var1 var2 … */
/*Regression when gender = 1 and age < 33*/
regress y x1 x2 if gender==1 & age<33, robust
/*Scatterplots when gender = 1 and age < 33*/
scater var1 var2 if gender==1 & age<33

“if” goes at the end of the command BUT before the comma that separates
the options from the command.
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First steps: Stata color-coded system
An important step is to make sure variables are in their expected format.
Stata has a color-coded system for each type. Black is for numbers, red is for text or string
and blue is for labeled variables.

Var2 is a string variable even though you
see numbers. You can’t do any statistical
procedure with this variable other than
simple frequencies

For var1 a value 2 has the
label “Fairly well”. It is still a
numeric variable

Var3 is a numeric You can do any statistical
procedure with this variable

Var4 is clearly a string variable.
You can do frequencies and
crosstabulations with this but
not statistical procedures.

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First steps: graphic view
Three basic procedures you may want to do first: create a log file (sort of Stata’s built-in tape recorder and where you can
retrieve the output of your work), set your working directory, and set the correct memory allocation for your data.

Click on “Save as type:” right below ‘File name:”
and select Log (*.log). This will create the file
called Log1.log (or whatever name you want with
extension *.log) which can be read by any word
processor or by Stata (go to File – Log – View). If
you save it as *.smcl (Formatted Log) only Stata
can read it. It is recommended to save the log file
as *.log

1

The log file will record
everything you type
including the output.

2
Shows your current working directory.
You can change it by typing
cd c:mydirectory

3

When dealing with really big datasets you may want to increase the memory:
set mem 700m /*You type this in the command window */
To estimate the size of the file you can use the formula:
Size (in bytes) = (8*Number of cases or rows*(Number of variables + 8))
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From SPSS/SAS to Stata
If you have a file in SAS XPORT format you can use fduse (or go to file-import).
If your data is already in SPSS format (*.sav) or SAS(*.sas7bcat). Two options:
Option A) Use Stat/Transfer, see here
http://dss.princeton.edu/training/StatTransfer.pdf
Option B) You can use the command usespss to read SPSS files in Stata or the command usesas
to read SAS files.
For SPSS and SAS, you may need to install it by typing
ssc install usespss
ssc install usesas
Once installed just type
usespss using “c:mydata.sav”
usesas using “c:mydata.sas7bcat”
Type help usespss or help usesas for more details.
For ASCII data please see http://dss.princeton.edu/training/DataPrep101.pdf
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Example of a dataset in Excel.
Variables are arranged by columns and cases by rows. Each variable has more than one value

Path to the file: http://www.princeton.edu/~otorres/Stata/Students.xls
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1 - To go from Excel to Stata you simply copy-andpaste data into the Stata’s “Data editor” which
you can open by clicking on the icon that looks
like this:

Excel to Stata (copy-and-paste)

2 - This window will open, is the data editor

3 - Press Ctrl-v to paste the
data from Excel…

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1 - Close the data editor by pressing the “X” button on the upper-right corner of the editor
NOTE: You need to close
the data editor or data
browser to continue
working.

Saving the dataset

2 - The “Variables”
window will show all
the variables in your
data

3 - Do not forget to save the file, in the command window type --- save students, replace
You can also use the menu, go to File – Save As

4 - This is what you will see in the output window,
the data has been saved as students.dta
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Excel to Stata (using insheet) step 1

Another way to bring excel data into Stata is by saving the Excel file as *.csv (commaseparated values) and import it in Stata using the insheet command.
In Excel go to File->Save as and save the Excel file as *.csv:

You may get the following messages, click OK and
YES…

Go to the next page…

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Excel to Stata (insheet using *.csv) step 2

In Stata go to File->Import->”ASCII data created by spreadsheet”. Click on ‘Browse’ to find the
file and then OK.

1

2

An alternative to using the menu you can type:
insheet using "c:mydatamydatafile.csv"
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Command: describe
To get a general description of the dataset and the format for each variable type
describe
. describe
Contains data from http://dss.princeton.edu/training/students.dta
obs:
30
vars:
14
29 Sep 2009 17:12
size:
2,580 (99.9% of memory free)
storage
variable name
type

display
format

id
lastname
firstname
city
state
gender
student status
major
country
age
sat
averagescoreg~e
heightin
newspaperread~k

%8.0g
%9s
%9s
%14s
%14s
%9s
%13s
%9s
%9s
%8.0g
%8.0g
%8.0g
%8.0g
%8.0g

byte
str5
str6
str14
str14
str6
str13
str8
str9
byte
int
byte
byte
byte

value
label

variable label
ID
Last Name
First Name
City
State
Gender
Student Status
Major
Country
Age
SAT
Average score (grade)
Height (in)
Newspaper readership

Type help describe for more information…
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Command: summarize
Type summarize to get some basic descriptive statistics.
. summarize
Variable

Obs

Mean

Std. Dev.

id
lastname
firstname
city
state

30
0
0
0
0

15.5

8.803408

gender
studentsta~s
major
country
age

0
0
0
0
30

25.2

sat
averagesco~e
heightin
newspaperr~k

30
30
30
30

1848.9
80.36667
66.43333
4.866667

Min

Max

1

30

6.870226

18

39

275.1122
10.11139
4.658573
1.279368

1338
63
59
3

2309
96
75
7

Zeros indicate string variables

Type help summarize for more information…

Use ‘min’ and ‘max’ values to check for a
valid range in each variable. For example,
‘age’ should have the expected values
(‘don’t know’ or ‘no answer’ are usually
coded as 99 or 999)
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Exploring data: frequencies
Frequency refers to the number of times a value is repeated. Frequencies are used to analyze
categorical data. The tables below are frequency tables, values are in ascending order. In Stata use
the command tab varname.
variable

. tab major
Major

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

Econ
Math
Politics

10
10
10

33.33
33.33
33.33

33.33
66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

‘Freq.’ provides a raw count of each value. In this case 10
students for each major.
‘Percent’ gives the relative frequency for each value. For
example, 33.33% of the students in this group are econ
majors.
‘Cum.’ is the cumulative frequency in ascending order of
the values. For example, 66.67% of the students are
econ or math majors.

variable
. tab readnews
Newspaper
readership
(times/wk)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

3
4
5
6
7

6
5
9
7
3

20.00
16.67
30.00
23.33
10.00

20.00
36.67
66.67
90.00
100.00

Total

30

‘Freq.’ Here 6 students read the newspaper 3 days a
week, 9 students read it 5 days a week.
‘Percent’. Those who read the newspaper 3 days a week
represent 20% of the sample, 30% of the students in the
sample read the newspaper 5 days a week.
‘Cum.’ 66.67% of the students read the newspaper 3 to 5
days a week.

100.00

Type help tab for more details.
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Exploring data: frequencies and descriptive statistics (using table)
Command table produces frequencies and descriptive statistics per category. For more info and a list of
all statistics type help table. Here are some examples, type
table gender, contents(freq mean age mean score)

. table gender, contents(freq mean age mean score)
Gender

Freq.

mean(age)

mean(score)

Female
Male

15
15

23.2
27.2

78.73333
82

The mean age of females is 23 years, for males is 27. The mean score is 78 for females and 82 for
males. Here is another example:

table major, contents(freq mean age mean sat mean score mean readnews)
. table major, contents(freq mean

age mean sat mean

score mean

readnews)

Major

Freq.

mean(age)

mean(sat)

mean(score)

mean(read~s)

Econ
Math
Politics

10
10
10

23.8
23
28.8

1806
1844
1896.7

76.2
79.8
85.1

4.4
5.3
4.9

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Exploring data: crosstabs
Also known as contingency tables, crosstabs help you to analyze the relationship between two or
more categorical variables. Below is a crosstab between the variable ‘ecostatu’ and ‘gender’. We use
the command tab var1 var2
The first value in a cell tells you the number of
observations for each xtab. In this case, 90
respondents are ‘male’ and said that the
economy is doing ‘very well’, 59 are ‘female’
and believe the economy is doing ‘very well’

Options ‘column’, ‘row’ gives you the
column and row percentages.
var1

var2

. tab ecostatu gender, column row
Key

frequency
row percentage
column percentage
Status of
Nat'l Eco

Gender of Respondent
Male
Female

Total

Very well

90
60.40
14.33

59
39.60
7.92

149
100.00
10.85

Fairly well

337
50.30
53.66

333
49.70
44.70

670
100.00
48.80

Fairly badly

139
39.94
22.13

209
60.06
28.05

348
100.00
25.35

Very badly

57
29.84
9.08

134
70.16
17.99

191
100.00
13.91

Not sure

2
16.67
0.32

10
83.33
1.34

12
100.00
0.87

Refused

3
100.00
0.48

0
0.00
0.00

3
100.00
0.22

Total

628
45.74
100.00

745
54.26
100.00

1,373
100.00
100.00

The second value in a cell gives you row
percentages for the first variable in the xtab.
Out of those who think the economy is doing
‘very well’, 60.40% are males and 39.60% are
females.

The third value in a cell gives you column
percentages for the second variable in the xtab.
Among males, 14.33% think the economy is
doing ‘very well’ while 7.92% of females have
the same opinion.

NOTE: You can use tab1 for multiple frequencies or tab2 to
run all possible crosstabs combinations. Type help tab for
further details.
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Exploring data: crosstabs (a closer look)
You can use crosstabs to compare responses among categories in relation to aggregate
responses. In the table below we can see how opinions for males and females diverge
from the national average.
. tab ecostatu gender, column row
Key

frequency
row percentage
column percentage
Status of
Nat'l Eco

Male
Female

Total

Very well

90
60.40
14.33

59
39.60
7.92

149
100.00
10.85

Fairly well

337
50.30
53.66

333
49.70
44.70

670
100.00
48.80

Fairly badly

139
39.94
22.13

209
60.06
28.05

348
100.00
25.35

Very badly

57
29.84
9.08

134
70.16
17.99

191
100.00
13.91

Not sure

2
16.67
0.32

10
83.33
1.34

12
100.00
0.87

3
100.00
0.48

0
0.00
0.00

628
45.74
100.00

745
54.26
100.00

Refused

Total

As a rule-of-thumb, a margin of error of ±4 percentage points can be
used to indicate a significant difference (some use ±3).
For example, rounding up the percentages, 11% (10.85) answer ‘very
well’ at the national level. With the margin of error, this gives a range
roughly between 7% and 15%, anything beyond this range could be
considered significantly different (remember this is just an
approximation). It does not appear to be a significant bias between
males and females for this answer.
In the ‘fairly well’ category we have 49%, with range between 45%
and 53%. The response for males is 54% and for females 45%. We
could say here that males tend to be a bit more optimistic on the
economy and females tend to be a bit less optimistic.
If we aggregate responses, we could get a better picture. In the table
below 68% of males believe the economy is doing well (comparing to
60% at the national level, while 46% of females thing the economy is
bad (comparing to 39% aggregate). Males seem to be more optimistic
than females.
RECODE of
ecostatu
(Status of
Nat'l Eco)

Male
Female

Total

Well

3
100.00
0.22

427
52.14
67.99

392
47.86
52.62

819
100.00
59.65

Bad

1,373
100.00
100.00

196
36.36
31.21

343
63.64
46.04

539
100.00
39.26

Not sure/ref

5
33.33
0.80

10
66.67
1.34

15
100.00
1.09

Total

628
45.74
100.00

745
54.26
100.00

1,373
100.00
100.00

recode ecostatu (1 2 = 1 "Well") (3 4 = 2 "Bad") (5 6=3 "Not sure/ref"), gen(ecostatu1) label(eco)
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Exploring data: crosstabs (test for associations)
To see whether there is a relationship between two variables you can choose a number of
tests. Some apply to nominal variables some others to ordinal. I am running all of them
here for presentation purposes.
tab ecostatu1 gender, column row nokey chi2 lrchi2 V exact gamma taub
Likelihood-ratio χ2(chi-square)
X2(chi-square)

Goodman & Kruskal’s γ (gamma)
Cramer’s V

Kendall’s τb (tau-b)

. tab ecostatu1 gender, column row nokey chi2 lrchi2 V exact gamma taub
Enumerating sample-space
stage 3: enumerations =
RECODE of
ecostatu
(Status of
Nat'l Eco)

combinations:
1
16
0

Male
Female

Fisher’s exact test

Total

Well

427
52.14
67.99

392
47.86
52.62

819
100.00
59.65

Bad

196
36.36
31.21

343
63.64
46.04

539
100.00
39.26

Not sure/ref

5
33.33
0.80

10
66.67
1.34

15
100.00
1.09

Total

628
45.74
100.00

745
54.26
100.00

1,373
100.00
100.00

33.5266
33.8162
0.1563
0.3095
0.1553

Pr = 0.000
Pr = 0.000

Pearson chi2(2)
likelihood-ratio chi2(2)
Cramér's V
gamma
Kendall's tau-b
Fisher's exact

=
=
=
=
=
=

ASE = 0.050
ASE = 0.026
0.000

– For nominal data use chi2, lrchi2, V
– For ordinal data use gamma and taub
– Use exact instead of chi2 when
frequencies are less than 5 across the
table.

X2(chi-square) tests for relationships between variables. The null
hypothesis (Ho) is that there is no relationship. To reject this we need a
Pr < 0.05 (at 95% confidence). Here both chi2 are significant. Therefore
we conclude that there is some relationship between perceptions of the
economy and gender. lrchi2 reads the same way.
Cramer’s V is a measure of association between two nominal variables. It
goes from 0 to 1 where 1 indicates strong association (for rXc tables). In
2x2 tables, the range is -1 to 1. Here the V is 0.15, which shows a small
association.
Gamma and taub are measures of association between two ordinal
variables (both have to be in the same direction, i.e. negative to positive,
low to high). Both go from -1 to 1. Negative shows inverse relationship,
closer to 1 a strong relationship. Gamma is recommended when there
are lots of ties in the data. Taub is recommended for square tables.
Fisher’s exact test is used when there are very few cases in the cells
(usually less than 5). It tests the relationship between two variables. The
null is that variables are independent. Here we reject the null and
conclude that there is some kind of relationship between variables

PU/DSS/OTR

Exploring data: descriptive statistics
For continuous data use descriptive statistics. These statistics are a collection of measurements of:
location and variability. Location tells you the central value the variable (the mean is the most common
measure of this) . Variability refers to the spread of the data from the center value (i.e. variance,
standard deviation). Statistics is basically the study of what causes such variability. We use the
command tabstat to get these stats.
tabstat age sat score heightin readnews, s(mean median sd var count range min max)
. tabstat

age sat score heightin readnews, s(mean median sd var count range min max)

stats

age

sat

score

heightin

readnews

mean
p50
sd
variance
N
range
min
max

25.2
23
6.870226
47.2
30
21
18
39

1848.9
1817
275.1122
75686.71
30
971
1338
2309

80.36667
79.5
10.11139
102.2402
30
33
63
96

66.43333
66.5
4.658573
21.7023
30
16
59
75

4.866667
5
1.279368
1.636782
30
4
3
7

Type help tabstat for a
complete list of descriptive
statistics

•The mean is the sum of the observations divided by the total number of observations.
•The median (p50 in the table above) is the number in the middle . To get the median you have to order the data
from lowest to highest. If the number of cases is odd the median is the single value, for an even number of cases
the median is the average of the two numbers in the middle.
•The standard deviation is the squared root of the variance. Indicates how close the data is to the mean. Assuming
a normal distribution, 68% of the values are within 1 sd from the mean, 95% within 2 sd and 99% within 3 sd
•The variance measures the dispersion of the data from the mean. It is the simple mean of the squared distance
from the mean.
•Count (N in the table) refers to the number of observations per variable.
•Range is a measure of dispersion. It is the difference between the largest and smallest value, max – min.
•Min is the lowest value in the variable.
•Max is the largest value in the variable.

PU/DSS/OTR

Exploring data: descriptive statistics
You could also estimate descriptive statistics by subgroups (i.e. gender, age, etc.)
tabstat age sat score heightin readnews, s(mean median sd var count range min max) by(gender)
. tabstat

age sat score heightin readnews, s(mean median sd var count range min max) by(gender)

Summary statistics: mean, p50, sd, variance, N, range, min, max
by categories of: gender (Gender)
gender

age

sat

score

heightin

readnews

Female

23.2
20
6.581359
43.31429
15
20
18
38

1871.8
1821
307.587
94609.74
15
971
1338
2309

78.73333
79
10.66012
113.6381
15
32
63
95

63.4
63
3.112188
9.685714
15
9
59
68

5.2
5
1.207122
1.457143
15
4
3
7

Male

27.2
28
6.773899
45.88571
15
21
18
39

1826
1787
247.0752
61046.14
15
845
1434
2279

82
82
9.613978
92.42857
15
31
65
96

69.46667
71
3.943651
15.55238
15
12
63
75

4.533333
4
1.302013
1.695238
15
4
3
7

Total

25.2
23
6.870226
47.2
30
21
18
39

1848.9
1817
275.1122
75686.71
30
971
1338
2309

80.36667
79.5
10.11139
102.2402
30
33
63
96

66.43333
66.5
4.658573
21.7023
30
16
59
75

4.866667
5
1.279368
1.636782
30
4
3
7

Type help tabstat for more options.
PU/DSS/OTR

Examples of frequencies and crosstabulations
Crosstabulations (tab with two variables)

Frequencies (tab command)

. tab gender studentstatus, column row

. tab gender
Key

Gender

Freq.

Percent

Female
Male

15
15

50.00
50.00

Total

30

Cum.

frequency
row percentage
column percentage

50.00
100.00

100.00
Gender

Student Status
Graduate Undergrad

Total

Female

5
33.33
33.33

10
66.67
66.67

15
100.00
50.00

Male

10
66.67
66.67

5
33.33
33.33

15
100.00
50.00

Total

In this sample we have 15 females and 15 males. Each represents
50% of the total cases.

15
50.00
100.00

15
50.00
100.00

30
100.00
100.00

. tab gender major, sum(sat)

Average SAT scores by gender and
major. Notice, ‘sat’ variable is a
continuous variable. The first cell
reads the average SAT score for a
female whose major is econ is
1952.3333 with a standard deviation
312.43, there are only 3 females with
a major in econ.

Means, Standard Deviations and Frequencies of SAT
Gender

Econ

Major
Math

Politics

Total

Female

1952.3333
312.43773
3

1762.5
317.99326
8

2030
262.25052
4

1871.8
307.58697
15

Male

1743.2857
155.6146
7

2170
72.124892
2

1807.8333
288.99994
6

1826
247.07518
15

Total

1806
219.16559
10

1844
329.76928
10

1896.7
287.20687
10

1848.9
275.11218
30

PU/DSS/OTR

Three way crosstabs

. bysort

studentstatus: tab gender major, column row

-> studentstatus = Graduate
Key

bysort var3: tab var1 var2, colum row
bysort studentstatus: tab gender
major, colum row

frequency
row percentage
column percentage
Major
Math

Gender

Econ

Politics

Female

0
0.00
0.00

2
40.00
66.67

3
60.00
37.50

5
100.00
33.33

Male

4
40.00
100.00

1
10.00
33.33

5
50.00
62.50

10
100.00
66.67

Total

4
26.67
100.00

3
20.00
100.00

8
53.33
100.00

15
100.00
100.00

Total

-> studentstatus = Undergraduate
Key

frequency
row percentage
column percentage
Major
Math

Gender

Econ

Female

3
30.00
50.00

6
60.00
85.71

1
10.00
50.00

10
100.00
66.67

Male

3
60.00
50.00

1
20.00
14.29

1
20.00
50.00

5
100.00
33.33

Total

6
40.00
100.00

7
46.67
100.00

2
13.33
100.00

15
100.00
100.00

Politics

Total

PU/DSS/OTR

Three way crosstabs with summary statistics of a fourth variable
. bysort

studentstatus: tab gender major, sum(sat)

-> studentstatus = Graduate
Gender

Econ

Major
Math

Politics

Total

Female

Average SAT scores by gender and
major for graduate and
undergraduate students. The third
cell reads: The average SAT score
of a female graduate student whose
major is politics is 2092.6667 with a
standard deviation of 2.82.13, there
are 3 graduate female students with
a major in politics.

.
.
0

1777
373.35238
2

2092.6667
282.13531
3

1966.4
323.32924
5

Male

1659.25
154.66819
4

2221
0
1

1785.6
317.32286
5

1778.6
284.3086
10

Total

1659.25
154.66819
4

1925
367.97826
3

1900.75
324.8669
8

1841.2
300.38219
15

-> studentstatus = Undergraduate
Gender

Econ

Major
Math

Politics

Total

Female

1952.3333
312.43773
3

1757.6667
337.01197
6

1842
0
1

1824.5
305.36872
10

Male

1855.3333
61.711695
3

2119
0
1

1919
0
1

1920.8
122.23011
5

Total

1903.8333
208.30979
6

1809.2857
336.59952
7

1880.5
54.447222
2

1856.6
257.72682
15

PU/DSS/OTR

Renaming variables and adding variable labels
Before

Renaming variables, type:

After

rename [old name] [new name]
rename
rename
rename
rename
rename

var1
var2
var3
var4
var5

id
country
party
imports
exports

Adding/changing variable labels, type:
Before

After

label variable [var name] “Text”

label
label
label
label
label

variable
variable
variable
variable
variable

id "Unique identifier"
country "Country name"
party "Political party in power"
imports "Imports as % of GDP"
exports "Exports as % of GDP"

PU/DSS/OTR

Assigning value labels
Adding labels to each category in a variable is a two step process in Stata.
Step 1: You need to create the labels using label define, type:
label define label1 1 “Agree” 2 “Disagree” 3 “Do not know”

Setp 2: Assign that label to a variable with those categories using label values:
label values var1 label1

If another variable has the same corresponding categories you can use the same
label, type
label values var2 label1

Verify by running frequencies for var1 and var2 (using tab)
If you type labelbook it will list all the labels in the datafile.

NOTE: Defining labels is not the same as creating variables
PU/DSS/OTR

Creating new variables
To generate a new variable use the command generate (gen for short), type
generate [newvar] = [expression]
… results for the first five students…
generate score2 = score/100
generate readnews2 = readnews*4

You can use generate to create constant variables. For example:
generate x = 5
generate y = 4*15
generate z = y/x

You can also use generate with string variables. For example:
generate fullname = last + “, “ + first
label variable fullname “Student full name”
browse id fullname last first

PU/DSS/OTR

Creating variables from a combination of other variables
To generate a new variable as a conditional from other variables type:
generate newvar=(var1==1 & var2==1)
generate newvar=(var1==1 & var2<26)
NOTE: & = and, | = or
. gen fem_less25=(gender==1 & age<26)
. tab

. gen fem_grad=(gender==1 & status==1)

fem_less25

fem_less25

. tab fem_grad
fem_grad

Freq.

Percent

25
5

83.33
16.67

30

100.00

Cum.

0
1

19
11

63.33
36.67

63.33
100.00

Total

30

100.00

83.33
100.00

Total

Percent

Cum.

0
1

Freq.

. tab

age gender

. tab gender status
Gender

Student Status
Graduate Undergrad

Age

Gender
Female

Male

Total

Total

Female
Male

5
10

10
5

15
15

Total

15

15

30

18
19
20
21
25
26
28
30
31
33
37
38
39

4
3
1
2
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
0

1
2
1
1
1
1
1
3
0
2
1
0
1

5
5
2
3
2
1
1
4
1
3
1
1
1

Total

15

15

30

PU/DSS/OTR

Recoding variables

1.- Recoding ‘age’ into three groups.
. tab age
Age

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

18
19
20
21
25
26
28
30
31
33
37
38
39

5
5
2
3
2
1
1
4
1
3
1
1
1

16.67
16.67
6.67
10.00
6.67
3.33
3.33
13.33
3.33
10.00
3.33
3.33
3.33

16.67
33.33
40.00
50.00
56.67
60.00
63.33
76.67
80.00
90.00
93.33
96.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

2.- Use recode command, type
Type help recode for more details

recode age (18 19 = 1 “18 to 19”) ///
(20/29 = 2 “20 to 29”) ///
(30/39 = 3 “30 to 39”) (else=.), generate(agegroups) label(agegroups)

3.- The new variable is called ‘agegroups’:
. tab agegroups
RECODE of
age (Age)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

18 to 19
20 to 29
30 to 39

10
9
11

33.33
30.00
36.67

33.33
63.33
100.00

Total

30

100.00

PU/DSS/OTR

Recoding variables using egen
You can recode variables using the command egen and options cut/group.
egen newvariable = cut (oldvariable), at (break1, break2, break3, etc.)
Notice that the breaks show ranges. Below we type four breaks. The first starts at 18 and ends before 20, the
second starts at 20 and ends before 30, the third starts at 30 and ends before 40.
. egen agegroups2=cut(age), at(18, 20, 30, 40)
. tab agegroups2
agegroups2

Freq.

Percent

18
20
30

10
9
11

33.33
30.00
36.67

Total

30

Cum.

100.00

33.33
63.33
100.00

You could also use the option group, which specifies groups with equal frequency (you have to add value
labels:
egen newvariable = cut (oldvariable), group(# of groups)
. egen agegroups3=cut(age), group(3)
. tab agegroups3
agegroups3

Freq.

Percent

0
1
2

10
9
11

33.33
30.00
36.67

Total

30

Cum.

100.00

33.33
63.33
100.00

For more details and options type help egen
PU/DSS/OTR

Changing variable values (using replace)
Before

After
. tab read, missing

. tab read
Newspaper
readership
(times/wk)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

3
4
5
6
7

6
5
9
7
3

20.00
16.67
30.00
23.33
10.00

20.00
36.67
66.67
90.00
100.00

Total

30

100.00

Newspaper
readership
(times/wk)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

3
4
5
.

6
5
9
10

20.00
16.67
30.00
33.33

20.00
36.67
66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

replace read = . if read>5

Before

After

. tab read

. tab read, missing

Newspaper
readership
(times/wk)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

3
4
5
6
7

6
5
9
7
3

20.00
16.67
30.00
23.33
10.00

20.00
36.67
66.67
90.00
100.00

Total

30

100.00

Newspaper
readership
(times/wk)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

3
4
5
6
.

6
5
9
7
3

20.00
16.67
30.00
23.33
10.00

20.00
36.67
66.67
90.00
100.00

Total

30

100.00

replace read = . if inc==7

Before

After
. tab gender

. tab gender
Gender

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

Gender

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

Female
Male

15
15

50.00
50.00

50.00
100.00

F
M

15
15

50.00
50.00

50.00
100.00

Total

30

100.00

Total

30

100.00

replace gender = "F" if gender == "Female"
replace gender = "M" if gender == "Male"
You can also do:
replace var1=# if var2==#
PU/DSS/OTR

Extracting characters from regular expressions
To remove strings from var1 use the following command
gen var2=regexr(var1,"[.})*a-zA-Z]+","")
destring var2, replace

. list var1 var2
var1

var2

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

123A33
2144F
2312A
3567754G
35457S

12333
2144
2312
3567754
35457

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

34234N
234212*
23146}
31231)
AFN.345

34234
234212
23146
31231
345

11.

NYSE.12

12

To extract strings from a combination of strings and numbers
gen var2=regexr(var1,"[.0-9]+","")

. list var1 var2
var1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

var2

AFM.123
ADGT.2345
ACDET.1234564
CDFGEEGY.596544
ACGETYF.1235

AFM
ADGT
ACDET
CDFGEEGY
ACGETYF

More info see: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/faq/regex.htm
PU/DSS/OTR

Indexing: creating ids
Using _n, you can create a unique identifier for each case in your data, type
Check the results in the data editor, ‘idall’ is equal to ‘id’

Using _N you can also create a variable with the total number of cases in your
dataset:
Check the results in the data editor:

PU/DSS/OTR

Indexing: creating ids by categories

We can create ids by categories. For example by major.

First we have to sort the data by the variable on
which we are basing the id (major in this case).
Then we use the command by to tell Stata that we
are using major as the base variable (notice the
colon).
Then we use browse to check the two variables.

PU/DSS/OTR

Indexing: lag and forward values

----- You can create lagged values with _n .
gen lag1_year=year[_n-1]
gen lag2_year=year[_n-2]
A more advance alternative to create lags uses the “L” operand within a time series
setting (tsset command must be specified first):

tsset year
time variable:
delta:

year, 1980 to 2009
1 unit

gen l1_year=L1.year
gen l2_year=L2.year

----- You can create forward values with _n:
gen for1_year=year[_n+1]
gen for2_year=year[_n+2]
You can also use the “F” operand (with tsset)

gen f1_year=F1.year
gen f2_year=F2.year
NOTE: Notice the square brackets
For times series see: http://dss.princeton.edu/training/TS101.pdf

PU/DSS/OTR

Indexing: countdown and specific values
Combining _n and _N you can create a countdown variable.

You can create a variable based on one value of another variable. For example,
create a variable with the highest SAT value in the sample.

NOTE: You could get the same result without sorting by using
egen and the max function

PU/DSS/OTR

Sorting
Before

After
sort var1 var2 …

gsort is another command to sort data. The difference between gsort and
sort is that with gsort you can sort in ascending or descending order, while
with sort you can sort only in ascending order. Use +/- to indicate whether you
want to sort in ascending/descending order. Here are some examples:

PU/DSS/OTR

Deleting variables
Use drop to delete variables and keep to keep them
Before

After

Or

Notice the dash between ‘total’ and ‘readnews2’, you can use this format to indicate a list so you
do not have to type in the name of all the variables

PU/DSS/OTR

Deleting cases (selectively)
You can drop cases selectively using the conditional “if”, for example
drop if var1==1

/*This will drop observations (rows)
where gender =1*/

drop if age>40 /*This will drop observation where
age>40*/
Alternatively, you can keep options you want
keep if var1==1
keep if age<40
keep if country==7 | country==13
keep if state==“New York” | state==“New Jersey”
| = “or”, & = “and”

For more details type help keep or help drop.

PU/DSS/OTR

Merge/Append

Please check this document:
http://dss.princeton.edu/training/Merge101.pdf

PU/DSS/OTR

Merging fuzzy text (reclink)
RECLINK - Matching fuzzy text. Reclink stands for ‘record linkage’. It is a program written by Michael Blasnik to merge imperfect
string variables. For example
Data1

Data2

Princeton University

Princeton U

Reclink helps you to merge the two databases by using a matching algorithm for these types of variables. Since it is a user
created program, you may need to install it by typing ssc install reclink. Once installed you can type help reclink
for details
As in merge, the merging variables must have the same name: state, university, city, name, etc. Both the master and the using
files should have an id variable identifying each observation.
Note: the name of ids must be different, for example id1 (id master) and id2 (id using). Sort both files by the matching (merging)
variables. The basic sytax is:
reclink var1 var2 var3 … using myusingdata, gen(myscore) idm(id1) idu(id2)
The variable myscore indicates the strength of the match; a perfect match will have a score of 1. Description (from reclink help
pages):
“reclink uses record linkage methods to match observations between two datasets where no perfect key fields exist -essentially a fuzzy merge. reclink allows for user-defined matching and non-matching weights for each variable and
employs a bigram string comparator to assess imperfect string matches.
The master and using datasets must each have a variable that uniquely identifies observations. Two new variables are
created, one to hold the matching score (scaled 0-1) and one for the merge variable. In addition, all of the
matching variables from the using dataset are brought into the master dataset (with newly prefixed names) to allow
for manual review of matches.”

PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: scatterplot

2400

2400

Scatterplots are good to explore possible relationships or patterns between variables and to identify outliers. Use the command scatter
(sometimes adding twoway is useful when adding more graphs). The format is scatter y x. Below we check the relationship
between SAT scores and age. For more details type help scatter .
twoway scatter sat age
twoway scatter sat age, mlabel(last)

2200

2200

DOE15
DOE11

DOE29
DOE01
DOE10

DOE16

SAT
2000
1800

SAT
1800
2000

DOE28
DOE05
DOE02
DOE24

DOE26
DOE30
DOE25
DOE03

DOE08
DOE04
DOE21

DOE19
DOE13

1600

1600

DOE12

DOE17

DOE14

DOE20

1400

1400

35

30

25

DOE27
DOE07

20

40

25

30

2400
DOE29
DOE01
DOE10

DOE15

2200

DOE16

2000
1800

DOE19
DOE13
DOE17

DOE18

DOE22
DOE20
DOE06

DOE23

DOE09
DOE27
DOE07

25

30
Age

SAT

35

40

DOE05

DOE02
DOE26
DOE30

DOE25
DOE03

1600

1800
1600

DOE24

DOE14

1400

DOE29
DOE01
DOE10

DOE16
DOE28

DOE05

DOE02

20

DOE11

DOE08
DOE04
DOE21
DOE12

DOE24
DOE25
DOE03
DOE19
DOE13
DOE17

DOE14

DOE18

DOE22
DOE20
DOE06

DOE23

DOE09

1400

2000

DOE28

DOE08
DOE04
DOE21
DOE12

40

twoway scatter sat age, mlabel(last) ||
lfit sat age, yline(30) xline(1800)

2400
2200

DOE15
DOE11

DOE26
DOE30

35

Age

Age

twoway scatter sat age, mlabel(last) ||
lfit sat age

DOE06

DOE23

DOE09

20

DOE18

DOE22

DOE27
DOE07

20

25

30

35

40

Age

Fitted values

SAT

Fitted values

PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: scatterplot
By categories

1000 1500 2000 2500

1000 1500 2000 2500

twoway scatter sat age, mlabel(last) by(major, total)

Econ

Math

DOE15
DOE30
DOE08 DOE25
DOE21
DOE12

DOE19

DOE17

DOE18

DOE27

DOE11
DOE28
DOE02
DOE04
DOE14
DOE09
DOE07

DOE16
DOE05

DOE06

Total

Politics
DOE29
DOE01
DOE10
DOE26
DOE03

DOE24
DOE13
DOE22
DOE23

20

25

30

35

DOE15
DOE11
DOE28
DOE02
DOE26
DOE30
DOE08DOE03
DOE04DOE25
DOE21
DOE12
DOE20 DOE14
DOE09
DOE07

40

20

DOE16

DOE29
DOE01
DOE10
DOE05
DOE24

DOE19
DOE13

25

DOE22
DOE23
DOE27

30

DOE17

DOE18
DOE20
DOE06

35

40

Age
SAT

Fitted values

Graphs by Major

Go to http://www.princeton.edu/~otorres/Stata/ for additional tips
PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: histogram
Histograms are another good way to visually explore data, especially to check for a normal
distribution. Type help histogram for details.

histogram age, frequency normal

0

0

5

5

Frequency

Frequency

10

10

15

15

histogram age, frequency

20

25

30
Age

35

40

20

25

30

35

40

Age

PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: catplot
To graph categorical data use catplot. Since it is a user defined program you have to
install it typing: ssc install catplot

tab agegroups major, col row cell

catplot bar major agegroups, blabel(bar)

8

. tab agegroups major, col row cell
Key
7

Major
Math

Politics

Total

4
40.00
40.00
13.33

5
50.00
50.00
16.67

1
10.00
10.00
3.33

10
100.00
33.33
33.33

4
44.44
40.00
13.33

3
33.33
30.00
10.00

2
22.22
20.00
6.67

9
100.00
30.00
30.00

30 to 39

2
18.18
20.00
6.67

2
18.18
20.00
6.67

7
63.64
70.00
23.33

11
100.00
36.67
36.67

Total

10
33.33
100.00
33.33

10
33.33
100.00
33.33

10
33.33
100.00
33.33

30
100.00
100.00
100.00

18 to 19

20 to 29

frequency
4

5

Econ

4

4

3

2

2

2

2

RECODE of
age (Age)

6

frequency
row percentage
column percentage
cell percentage

0

1

Econ Math Politics

Econ Math Politics

Econ Math Politics

18 to 19

20 to 29

30 to 39

Note: Numbers correspond to the frequencies in the table.
PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: catplot
catplot

bar major agegroups, percent(agegroups)

blabel(bar)
63.6364

60

Row %
50

percent of category
20
40

. tab

44.4444

agegroups major, col row

Key

frequency
row percentage
column percentage

40
33.3333

22.2222
18.1818 18.1818

0

10

RECODE of
age (Age)
18 to 19

20 to 29

30 to 39

Total

Econ

Major
Math

Politics

Total

4
40.00
40.00

5
50.00
50.00

1
10.00
10.00

10
100.00
33.33

Econ Math Politics

Econ Math Politics

Econ Math Politics

18 to 19

20 to 29

30 to 39

18 to 19

40

Econ 20 to 29

40

4
44.44
40.00

3
33.33
30.00

2
22.22
20.00

9
100.00
30.00

30 to 39

2
18.18
20.00

2
18.18
20.00

7
63.64
70.00

11
100.00
36.67

Math 20 to 29

10
33.33
100.00

10
33.33
100.00

10
33.33
100.00

30
100.00
100.00

18 to 19

18 to 19

50
30

30 to 39

20

10

Politics 20 to 29

20

30 to 39

70

0

catplot

hbar agegroups major, percent(major)

Column %

20

20

40
percent of category

60

80

blabel(bar)

PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: catplot
catplot

hbar major agegroups, blabel(bar) by(gender)

Raw counts by major and gender
Female
Econ

. bysort gender: tab

agegroups major, col nokey

18 to 19

Male
Econ

2

Math

5

18 to 19

Politics

2

Math
Politics

1

-> gender = Female
RECODE of
age (Age)

Econ

Econ

Major
Math

Politics

Total

18 to 19

2
66.67

5
62.50

0
0.00

7
46.67

20 to 29

1
33.33

1
12.50

2
50.00

4
26.67

30 to 39
Total

0
0.00
3
100.00

2
25.00
8
100.00

2
50.00
4
100.00

20 to 29

Math

1

Econ

20 to 29

Politics

30 to 39

3

Math

2

Politics

2

Econ

Econ

Math

30 to 39

2

Politics

4
26.67
15
100.00

1

2

0

1

2

2

Math
Politics

3

4

5

5

0

1

2

3

4

5

frequency
Graphs by Gender

Percentages by major and gender

RECODE of
age (Age)

Male

Female

-> gender = Male
Econ

Econ

Major
Math

Politics

Total

18 to 19

2
28.57

0
0.00

1
16.67

3
20.00

20 to 29

3
42.86

2
100.00

0
0.00

5
33.33

30 to 39

2
28.57

0
0.00

5
83.33

7
100.00

2
100.00

6
100.00

15
100.00

28.5714

7
46.67

Total

Econ

66.6667

18 to 19

Math

62.5

18 to 19

Politics

Politics

Econ

20 to 29

Math

20 to 29

12.5

Math

100

Econ

Math

30 to 39

25

Politics

hbar major agegroups, percent(major
blabel(bar) by(gender)

42.8571

Politics

50

Econ

catplot
gender)

16.6667

Econ

33.3333

Politics

30 to 39

Math

20

40

60

Math
Politics

50

0

28.5714

80 100

83.3333

0

20

40

60

80 100

percent of category
Graphs by Gender

PU/DSS/OTR

Graphs: means

gender and major
Female, Econ

Stata can also help to visually present
summaries of data. If you do not want to
type you can go to ‘graphics’ in the menu.

Female, Math

19

Female, Politics

23

26.75

70.3333

79

Male, Econ

Male, Math

25.8571

Male, Politics

23

30.1667

78.7143

graph hbar (mean) age (mean) averagescoregrade,
blabel(bar) by(, title(gender and major)) by(gender
major, total)

84.5

0

83

20

40

60

80

85.5

0

20

40

60

80

Total
25.2
80.3667

0

20

40

60

80

mean of age

mean of averagescoregrade

Graphs by Gender and Major

Student indicators
31.4

Female

80.2
5

Graduate
31.1

graph hbar (mean) age averagescoregrade
newspaperreadershiptimeswk, over(gender)
over(studentstatus, label(labsize(small))) blabel(bar)
title(Student indicators) legend(label(1 "Age")
label(2 "Score") label(3 "Newsp read"))

Male

81.1
4.9

19.1

Female

78
5.3

Undergraduate
19.4

Male

83.8
3.8

0

20

40
Age
Newsp read

60

80
Score

PU/DSS/OTR

Creating dummies
You can create dummy variables by either using recode or using a combination of tab/gen commands:
tab major, generate(major_dum)
. tab major, generate(major_dum)
Major

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

Econ
Math
Politics

10
10
10

33.33
33.33
33.33

33.33
66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

Check the ‘variables’ window, at the end you will see
three new variables. Using tab1 (for multiple
frequencies) you can check that they are all 0 and 1
values

. tab1

major_dum1 major_dum2 major_dum3

-> tabulation of major_dum1
major==Econ

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

0
1

20
10

66.67
33.33

66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

major==Math

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

0
1

20
10

66.67
33.33

66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

major==Poli
tics

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

0
1

20
10

66.67
33.33

66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00
PU/DSS/OTR

Creating dummies (cont.)

Here is another example:
tab agregroups, generate(agegroups_dum)
. tab agegroups, generate(agegroups_dum)
RECODE of
age (Age)

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

18 to 19
20 to 29
30 to 39

10
9
11

33.33
30.00
36.67

33.33
63.33
100.00

Total

30

100.00

Check the ‘variables’ window, at the end you will see
three new variables. Using tab1 (for multiple
frequencies) you can check that they are all 0 and 1
values

. tab1

agegroups_dum1 agegroups_dum2 agegroups_dum3

-> tabulation of agegroups_dum1
agegroups==
18 to 19

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

0
1

20
10

66.67
33.33

66.67
100.00

Total

30

100.00

agegroups==
20 to 29

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

0
1

21
9

70.00
30.00

70.00
100.00

Total

30

100.00

agegroups==
30 to 39

Freq.

Percent

Cum.

0
1

19
11

63.33
36.67

63.33
100.00

Total

30

100.00

PU/DSS/OTR

Basic data reporting

Frequently used Stata commands
Getting on-line help

Stata commands
help
search

Operating-system interface

pwd
cd
sysdir
mkdir
dir / ls
erase
copy
type

Using and saving data from disk

use
clear
save
append
merge
compress

Inputting data into Stata

input
edit
infile
infix
insheet

The Internet and Updating Stata

codebook

Source: http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/notes2/commands.htm

Type help [command name] in the windows command for details

Category

inspect
list
browse
count
assert
summarize
Table (tab)
tabulate
Data manipulation

egen
recode
rename
drop
keep
sort
encode
decode
order
by
reshape
Formatting

format
label

Keeping track of your work

ado
news

generate
replace

update
net

describe

log
notes

Convenience

display

PU/DSS/OTR

Is my model OK? (links)
Regression diagnostics: A checklist
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/webbooks/reg/chapter2/statareg2.htm
Logistic regression diagnostics: A checklist
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/webbooks/logistic/chapter3/statalog3.htm
Times series diagnostics: A checklist (pdf)
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~mrg217/timeseries.pdf
Times series: dfueller test for unit roots (for R and Stata)
http://www.econ.uiuc.edu/~econ472/tutorial9.html
Panel data tests: heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation
–
–
–
–

http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/stat/panel.html
http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/stat/xtreg.html
http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/stat/xt.html
http://dss.princeton.edu/online_help/analysis/panel.htm

PU/DSS/OTR

I can’t read the output of my model!!! (links)
Data Analysis: Annotated Output
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/AnnotatedOutput/default.htm
Data Analysis Examples
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/dae/
Regression with Stata
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/STAT/stata/webbooks/reg/default.htm
Regression
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/topics/regression.htm
How to interpret dummy variables in a regression
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/Stata/webbooks/reg/chapter3/statareg3.htm
How to create dummies
http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/data/dummy.html
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/faq/dummy.htm
Logit output: what are the odds ratios?
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/library/odds_ratio_logistic.htm

PU/DSS/OTR

Topics in Statistics (links)
What statistical analysis should I use?
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/mult_pkg/whatstat/default.htm
Statnotes: Topics in Multivariate Analysis, by G. David Garson
http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm
Elementary Concepts in Statistics
http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html
Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications
http://www.psychstat.missouristate.edu/introbook/sbk00.htm
Statistical Data Analysis
http://math.nicholls.edu/badie/statdataanalysis.html
Stata Library. Graph Examples (some may not work with STATA 10)
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/STAT/stata/library/GraphExamples/default.htm
Comparing Group Means: The T-test and One-way ANOVA Using STATA, SAS, and
SPSS
http://www.indiana.edu/~statmath/stat/all/ttest/

PU/DSS/OTR

Useful links / Recommended books
•

DSS Online Training Section http://dss.princeton.edu/training/

•

UCLA Resources to learn and use STATA http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/

•

DSS help-sheets for STATA http://dss/online_help/stats_packages/stata/stata.htm

•

Introduction to Stata (PDF), Christopher F. Baum, Boston College, USA. “A 67-page description of Stata, its key
features and benefits, and other useful information.” http://fmwww.bc.edu/GStat/docs/StataIntro.pdf

•

STATA FAQ website http://stata.com/support/faqs/

•

Princeton DSS Libguides http://libguides.princeton.edu/dss

Books
•

Introduction to econometrics / James H. Stock, Mark W. Watson. 2nd ed., Boston: Pearson Addison
Wesley, 2007.

•

Data analysis using regression and multilevel/hierarchical models / Andrew Gelman, Jennifer Hill.
Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

•

Econometric analysis / William H. Greene. 6th ed., Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall, 2008.

•

Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research / Gary King, Robert O.
Keohane, Sidney Verba, Princeton University Press, 1994.

•

Unifying Political Methodology: The Likelihood Theory of Statistical Inference / Gary King, Cambridge
University Press, 1989

•

Statistical Analysis: an interdisciplinary introduction to univariate & multivariate methods / Sam
Kachigan, New York : Radius Press, c1986

•

Statistics with Stata (updated for version 9) / Lawrence Hamilton, Thomson Books/Cole, 2006
PU/DSS/OTR

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