Using Stata for Quantitative Analysis. Kyle C. Longest
finances (e.g., debt) applicable to economics, and measures of substance use behaviors that would be pertinent to social work or health researchers. The full data set and documentation can be downloaded from the Association of Religion Data Archives (www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Descriptions/NSYRW3.asp).
The first wave of the survey sampled 3,290 U.S. English- and Spanish-speaking teenagers, ages 13 to 17. The sampling and survey were conducted from July 2002 to August 2003 using random-digit dialing, drawing on a sample of randomly generated telephone numbers representative of all noncellular phone numbers in the United States. The overall response rate of 57% for the first survey is lower than desired, but it is similar to other current nationally based surveys using similar methodologies. Further comparisons of the NSYR data with 2002 U.S. Census data on households and with nationally representative surveys of adolescents—such as Monitoring the Future, the National Household Education Survey, and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health—confirm that the NSYR provides a nationally representative sample of U.S. teenagers aged 13 to 17 years and their parents without identifiable sampling or nonresponse biases (for details, see Smith & Denton, 2005). The follow-up sample used in the data sets comes from this initial sample of 3,290 teens. To obtain more information regarding the technical details and documentation of the NSYR, please visit www.youthandreligion.org/.
A Note on Versions
All the commands and examples for this book were produced using Stata 15 for Windows. The primary commands and options are similar for older versions, dating back until at least Stata 9. There were, however, a few changes between Stata 11 and Stata 12 and then a few more substantial ones with Stata 13. Most of these changes do not affect the actual functionality but rather deal with convenience and appearance. In fact, most of the substantive differences that the new users would encounter fall under the topics covered in Chapter 1.
For users of Stata 13 or prior, I would suggest obtaining the second edition of this text as it presents the material specifically for this version. It also includes the introductory topics specifically for both Stata 12 and Stata 11. Again the key differences exist in the material presented in Chapter 1. So all users should be able to rejoin this edition at Chapter 2. From that point on, all of the commands and strategies are equivalent across versions (although the appearance of the screenshots may be slightly different).
The vast majority of the commands presented are similar for Stata for Mac as well. The appearance and wording of some icons as well as the pathways for the point-and-click menus may be slightly different for a Mac operating system.
A Note on Notation
Certain text in this book will be presented in a slightly different font. Generally, anything that you enter into or that comes out of Stata will be denoted with the typewriter (i.e., Courier New) font. This font will be used to indicate variable names in a particular data set, such as gender or ids. It will also be used to show the display from the Stata Results window (if the actual screenshot is not shown).
This font will be used to denote a command that is entered into the Command window to perform a given operation. Additionally, if these commands are presented by themselves within a sentence, they will be set apart by a dash pre and post (e.g., -replace-) so that they are not confused with a variable name.
The majority of this book discusses the syntax command interface (i.e., the Command window) aspect of Stata. But there will be times when the menu, point-and-click interface is described. Menus (e.g., File), clickable buttons (e.g., OK), or keys on the keyboard (e.g., Enter) will be denoted with the bold font.
Finally, Stata is a case-sensitive program, meaning that all commands and variable names must be typed exactly as they are shown. For the purposes of this book, this sensitivity means that at times, the capitalization may not follow typical grammatical conventions. For example, if a variable name starts a sentence and that variable name is lowercase, then that sentence will start with a lowercase letter.
References
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Leon-Guerrero, A. (2010). Social statistics for a diverse society (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
Smith, C., & Denton, M. L. (2005). Soul searching: The religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Acknowledgments
The author and SAGE Publishing gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following reviewers:
Carol Ann MacGregor, Loyola University New Orleans
Charles Plante, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Donald M. Gooch, Stephen F. Austin State University
Frank Griggs, University of Connecticut
Stefanie Kasparek, Temple University
Jonathan Hanson, University of Michigan
About the Author
Kyle C. Longestreceived his bachelor’s in sociology from Indiana University and his master’s and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently, Longest is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Sociology at Furman University, where he teaches courses on quantitative analysis, research methods, deviance, sociology of religion, sports analytics, and Harry Potter. Longest has written articles for a variety of publications, including Stata Journal, Social Forces, Sociological Perspectives, Sociological Forum, Journal of Business Venturing, and Journal of Marriage and Family.
Part I Foundations for Working With Stata
1 Getting to Know Stata 15
For many people, learning any new computer software can be an anxiety-producing task. When that computer program involves statistics, the stress level generally increases exponentially. If you have similar feelings as you begin your journey into becoming a Stata1 user, do not fear. You are not alone. This book is designed with this apprehension in mind. One of the primary goals of this book is to help alleviate, or at least minimize, this anxiety as we move toward becoming effective and proficient Stata users. Keep in mind that at one time you may have had similar feelings about using e-mail or the Internet, and just as many people now feel extremely comfortable using these programs, by the end of this book, you will have a similar grasp of and comfort with Stata.
1Stata is a registered trademark of StataCorp LLC.
Before diving into all the details of using Stata, it is important to have an understanding of its various components. This chapter will serve as an introduction to the basic building blocks of the Stata program. Each of these aspects will be covered in much more detail throughout the book, but this chapter provides an overview of the basic functionality of the Stata program. The second section of the chapter explains how data are opened, imported, and entered.
What You See2
2If you are using Stata 14, all of the commands and screenshots presented will be very similar, although there may be very minor discrepancies. If you are using Stata 13 or prior, I would recommend