Statistics with Stata (Updated for Version 7)

Rating:
Summary: Switching over in a vacuum?
Review: Drawn by the usability and features, likely you're considering switching to Stata from SAS, SPSS, LIMDEP, or other similar statistical package. This was the same situation I was facing. I bought this book on a whim, while ordering Stata7. It provides a good overview of Stata's features and tells you the commands for common features you use often with your old stats package. A really nice feature is that each topic shows multiple levels of depth for the focal model. For example the section on multiple regression starts with the OLS command, but on the same "2 pages for quick overview" shows a dozen or so of the more advanced commands you're likely to need for incremental regression analysis, 1-way effects, 2-way x-section time-series regresions and others. A very useful structure... which allows the reader to see the tree of related commands on 2-pages for each topic.

It's a nice substitute (and even a compliment) for a collegue who already knows Stata. You're unlikely to be using this book for more than a week initially, but may refer back to it before opening the Stata User's Guide when starting a new project that requires a method that you haven't yet used in Stata.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful
Review: I purchased this book to assist me in my use of STATA for a research project and to help get me through a grad level stats class. This book was much easier to reference than the volumes of manuals that come with STATA. I found it helpful as a desktop reference while using the program.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful
Review: I purchased this book to assist me in my use of STATA for a research project and to help get me through a grad level stats class. This book was much easier to reference than the volumes of manuals that come with STATA. I found it helpful as a desktop reference while using the program.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference tool
Review: I'm a PhD student at a Top 25 business school. In much of my research I do a lot of econometric analysis. If you already have used statistical software before, then not only is Stata with all its support the package to use, but this book by Hamilton should be your quickstart guide.

It is very easy to read, and very logical. But probably most importantly, at the beginning of each chapter it provides example commands, along with popular parameters you might use along with those commands. Which means that if you are familiar with what kind of analysis you want, typing it into Stata is just 2 minutes away with the help of this book.

My only complaint -- and it is a significant one I believe -- is that this reference doesn't do a very good job of describing the panel data commands. Granted, panel data may be a little advanced for this "tidy" thing but I think even 20-25 pgs of panel data analysis and examples would have improved the entire presentation immensely.

Rating:
Summary: Very helpful guide
Review: If you are about to become a user of Stata, or if you already have worked with the program for some time, this guide is likely to be of great help! It introduces you to everything from setting up a dataset to engage in programming. It is rich of examples. The book has saved me a lot of time, and it is really a short cut, instead of consulting the reference books.

Due to its size (339 pages), it is not a comprehensive guide; you will need to use the help command and the reference material as complements to this guide. It loses its fifth star due to limited coverage and its incomplete index.

Rating:
Summary: Statistics with Stata Updated for Version 7
Review: Very useful book for STATA beginners in the social sciences.