Structural equation modeling (SEM)
Estimate mediation effects, analyze the relationship between an unobserved
latent concept such as depression and the observed variables that
measure depression, or fit a model with complex relationships among both latent
and observed variables.
Fit models with continuous, binary, count, and ordinal
outcomes. Even fit hierarchical models with groups of correlated observations
such as children within the same schools. Evaluate model fit. Compute
indirect and total effects. Fit models by drawing a path diagram or using
the straightforward command syntax.
Hierarchical models
Whether the groupings in your data arise in a nested fashion (students nested
in classrooms and classrooms nested in schools) or in a nonnested fashion
(regions crossed with occupations), you can fit a hierarchical model to
account for the lack of independence within these groups. Fit models for
continuous, binary, count, ordinal, and survival outcomes. Estimate variances
of random intercepts and random coefficients. Compute intraclass correlations.
Estimate relationships that are population averaged
over the random effects. Predict random effects or use Bayesian multilevel models to obtain their entire distributions.
General linear models
Fit one- and two-way models. Or fit models with three, four, or even more
factors. Analyze data with nested factors, with fixed and random factors, or
with repeated measures. Use ANCOVA models when you have continuous
covariates and MANOVA models when you have multiple outcome variables.
Further explore the relationships between your outcome and predictors by
estimating effect sizes and computing least-squares and marginal means. Perform contrasts and pairwise comparisons. Analyze and plot interactions.
Power, precision, and sample size
Before you conduct your experiment, determine the sample size needed to detect
meaningful effects without wasting resources. Do you intend to compute CIs for
means or variances or perform tests for proportions or correlations? Do you
plan to fit a Cox proportional hazards model or compare survivor functions
using a log-rank test? Do you want to use a Cochran—Mantel—Haenszel test of
association or a Cochran—Armitage trend test? Use Stata's
power command to
compute power and sample size, create customized tables, and automatically
graph the relationships between power, sample size, and effect size for your
planned study. Or use the ciwidth
command to do the same but for CIs instead
of hypothesis tests by computing the required sample size for the desired CI
precision. Or use gsdesign
to compute stopping boundaries and the required sample sizes for group sequential
designs. Instead of commands, use the interactive Control Panel to perform your analysis.
Linear, binary, and count regressions
Fit classical linear models of the relationship between a continuous outcome,
such as weight, and the determinants of weight, such as height, diet, and
levels of exercise. If your response is binary (for example, employed or
unemployed), ordinal (education level), or count (number of children), don't
worry. Stata has maximum likelihood estimators—logistic, ordered logistic, Poisson, and many others—that
estimate the relationship between such
outcomes and their determinants. A vast array of tools is available to
analyze such models. Predict outcomes and their confidence intervals. Test equality of parameters.
Compute linear and nonlinear combinations of parameters.
IRT (item response theory)
Explore the relationship between unobserved latent characteristics such as
mathematical aptitude and the probability of correctly answering test
questions (items). Or explore the relationship between unobserved health and
self-reported responses to questions about mobility, independence, and other
health-affected activities. IRT can be used to create measures of such
unobserved traits or place individuals on a scale measuring the trait. It can
also be used to select the best items for measuring a latent trait. IRT
models are available for binary, graded, rated, partial-credit, and nominal
response items. Visualize the relationships using item characteristic curves,
and measure overall test performance using test information functions.
Contrasts, marginal means, and profile plots
Quickly and easily obtain contrasts for categorical variables and their
interactions. A simple R.edlevel will give you all the contrasts of education
level with a reference category. A.edlevel will give you each paired contrast
with the next higher education level. There are many more named contrasts,
and you can specify your own. If you don't like typing, use a dialog box to
select your contrasts. Marginal means are just a simple command
or mouse click away after almost any estimation command. Evaluating
interaction effects, the effects of moderating variables, is just as easy.
And this is not just for linear models but for models with binary, ordinal,
and count outcomes. Even for hierarchical models with correct handling of
random effects. A simple command or a few mouse clicks will get you a profile
plot of any of these results.
Meta-analysis
Combine results of multiple studies to estimate an overall effect. Use
forest plots to visualize results. Use subgroup analysis and
meta-regression to explore study heterogeneity. Use funnel plots and
formal tests to explore publication bias and small-study effects. Use
trim-and-fill analysis to assess the impact of publication bias on
results. Perform cumulative and leave-one-out meta-analysis. Perform
univariate, multilevel, and multivariate meta-analysis. Use the meta suite, or let the Control Panel interface
guide you through your entire meta-analysis.
Multiple imputation
Account for missing data in your sample using multiple imputation. Choose from
univariate and multivariate methods to impute missing values in continuous,
censored, truncated, binary, ordinal, categorical, and count variables. Then,
in a single step, estimate parameters using the imputed datasets, and combine
results. Fit a linear model, logit model, Poisson model, hierarchical model,
survival model, or one of the many other supported models. Use the mi command,
or let the Control Panel interface guide you through your entire MI analysis.
Multivariate methods
Use multivariate analyses to evaluate relationships among variables from
many different perspectives. Perform multivariate tests of means, or fit
multivariate regression and MANOVA models. Explore relationships between two
sets of variables, such as aptitude measurements and achievement measurements,
using canonical correlation. Examine the number and structure of latent
concepts underlying a set of variables using exploratory factor analysis. Or
use principal component analysis to find underlying structure or to reduce the
number of variables used in a subsequent analysis. Discover groupings of
observations in your data using cluster analysis. If you have known groups in
your data, describe differences between them using discriminant analysis.
Choice models
Model your discrete choice data. If your outcome is, for instance,
high-school graduates' choices to attend college, attend a trade
school, or to work, you can fit a conditional logit, multinomial
probit, or mixed logit model. Is your outcome instead a ranking of
prefered alternatives? Fit a rank-ordered probit or rank-ordered
logit model. Regardless of the model fit, you can use the
margins to easily interpret the results. Estimate how much
distance to the nearest college affects the probability of
enrolling in college and even the probability of going to
a trade school.
Causal inference
Estimate experimental-style causal effects from observational data. With
Stata's treatment-effects estimators, you can use a potential-outcomes
(counterfactuals) framework to estimate, for instance, the effect of
family structure on child development or the effect of unemployment on
anxiety. Fit models for continuous, binary, count, fractional, and
survival outcomes with binary or multivalued treatments using
inverse-probability weighting (IPW), propensity-score matching,
nearest-neighbor matching, regression adjustment, or doubly robust
estimators. If the assignment to a treatment is not independent of the
outcome, you can use an endogenous treatment-effects estimator. In the
presence of group and time effects, you can use
difference-in-differences (DID) and triple-differences (DDD) estimators.
In the presence of high-dimensional covariates, you can use lasso. If
causal effects are mediated through another variable, use causal
mediation with mediate to disentangle direct and indirect effects.
Survey methods
Whether your data require a simple weighted adjustment because of differential
sampling rates or you have data from a complex multistage survey, Stata's
survey features can provide you with correct standard errors and confidence
intervals for your inferences.
Simply specify the relevant characteristics of
your sampling design, such as sampling weights (including weights at multiple
stages), clustering (at one, two, or more stages), stratification, and
poststratification. After that, most of Stata's estimation commands can adjust
their estimates to correct for your sampling design.
Bayesian analysis
Fit Bayesian regression models using one of the Markov chain Monte Carlo
(MCMC) methods. You can choose from various supported models or even
program your own. Extensive tools are available to check convergence,
including multiple chains. Compute posterior mean estimates and credible
intervals for model parameters and functions of model parameters. You
can perform both interval- and model-based hypothesis testing. Compare
models using Bayes factors. Compute model fit using posterior predictive
values and generate predictions. If you want to account for model
uncertainty in your regression model, use
Bayesian model averaging.
Automated reporting and customizable tables
Stata is designed for reproducible research, including the ability to
create dynamic documents incorporating your analysis results. Create
Word or PDF files, populate Excel worksheets with results and format
them to your liking, and mix Markdown, HTML, Stata results, and Stata
graphs, all from within Stata. Create tables that compare
regression results or summary statistics, use default styles
or apply your own, and export your tables to Word, PDF, HTML, LaTeX,
Excel, or Markdown and include them in your reports.
Jupyter Notebook with Stata
Jupyter Notebook is widely used by
researchers and scientists to share their ideas and results for collaboration
and innovation. It is an easy-to-use web application that allows you to
combine code, visualizations, mathematical formulas, narrative text, and other
rich media in a single document (a "notebook") for interactive computing and
developing. You can invoke Stata and Mata from Jupyter Notebook with the
IPython (interactive Python) kernel. This
means you can combine the capabilities of both Python and Stata in a single
environment to make your work easily reproducible and shareable with others.
With my statistical training originating from psychology, there was a great emphasis on factorial designs, especially learning to understand interactions, both graphically and analytically. Stata allows you to graph the results of any interaction. Furthermore, Stata lets you easily dissect interactions into their components, easily obtaining simple effects, simple contrasts, partial interactions, and interaction contrasts. You can even easily graph the results of contrasts.
— Michael Mitchell
Senior statistician at the USC Children's Data
Network, author of four Stata Press books, and former UCLA statistical consultant who envisioned and designed the UCLA Statistical Consulting Resources website
Intuitive and easy to use.
Once you learn the syntax of one estimator, graphics command,
or data management tool, you will effortlessly understand the rest.
Accuracy and reliability.
Stata is extensively and continually tested. Stata's tests produce
approximately 5.8 million lines of output. Each of those lines is
compared against known-to-be-accurate results
across editions of Stata and every operating system Stata supports to
ensure accuracy and reproducibility.
One package. No modules.
When you buy Stata, you obtain
everything for your statistical,
graphical, and data analysis needs. You do not need to buy separate modules
or import your data to specialized software.
Write your own Stata programs.
You can easily write your own Stata programs and commands. Share them
with others or use them to simplify your work. Utilize Stata's
do-files, ado-files, and Mata: Stata's own advanced programming
language that adds direct support for matrix programming. You can also
access and benefit from the thousands of existing Stata
community-contributed programs.
Extensive documentation.
Stata offers 35 manuals with more than 18,000 pages of PDF documentation
containing detailed examples, in-depth discussions, references to relevant literature,
and methods and formulas. Stata's documentation is a great place to learn about
Stata and the statistics, graphics, data management, and data science tools you
are using for your research.
Top-notch technical support.
Stata's technical support is known for their prompt, accurate,
detailed, and clear responses. People answering your questions have master's
and PhD degrees in relevant areas of research.
Join us for one of our free live webinars. Ready. Set. Go Stata shows you how to quickly get started manipulating, graphing, and analyzing your data. Or, go deeper in one of our special-topics webinars.
Stata's YouTube has over 350 videos with a dedicated playlist of methodologies important to behavioral scientists. And they are a convenient teaching aid in the classroom.
Get started quickly at using Stata effectively, or even learn how to perform rigorous time-series, panel-data, or survival analysis, all from the comfort of you home or office. NetCourses make it easy.
Stata Press offers books with clear, step-by-step examples that make teaching easier and that enable students to learn and behavioral scientists to implement the latest best practices in analysis.