Training
The CRS offers various workshops for faculty and graduate students on a recurring basis during the academic year. Faculty interested in having the CRS help with methodological course work should contact John Daniels, CRS Statistical Programming Consultant, for more information.
Stata Basics
Stata is a widely used statistical software package and while moderately difficult to master. Stata’s robust programming environment and statistical procedures make it one of the best statistical applications available for the social science researcher. This workshop is designed to introduce new users to Stata. No previous experience with Stata or statistical programs in general is necessary.
Topics to be covered include: how to input data into Stata, data management, statistical analysis, graphing, and writing batch files. The workshop will include hands-on training using Stata. By the end this class, you should have a firm grasp of the fundaments of using Stata.
Stata Programming Topics: Macros and Loops
This workshop is for intermediate/advanced Stata users who wish take greater advantage of the extremely versatile scripting language of Stata. A common problem Stata users face is repeating a base process with small changes iteratively. The typical solution is to cut and paste and then modify the code accordingly, but that process can produce almost as many errors as typing the code over and over again.
The proper solution is to make use of the Stata scripting language to automate repetitive tasks and thus minimize errors. Macros and conditional branching or ""loops" are exactly the right solution. Macros are used to substitute text and are the little known underpinning of all base Stata code. Conditional loops are a basic concept in most programming languages and are useful for iterating through a sequence or list of information, whether it be a sequence of numbers, letters, variables, or an arbitrary set of criteria.
While a bit challenging at first, Stata users will find macros and loops to be great time savers.
Stata Programming Topics: Matrices and MATA
There are more ways to store data in Stata than just variables and observations. Scalars, matrices, and the MATA environment represent the base underpinning of Stata, but the average user typically has little to no idea of their existence, let alone how to use these elements to their advantage.
The purpose of this workshop is introduce intermediate/advanced Stata users to both the legacy method of dealing with matrices, as well as the newer MATA environment. Topics will include the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, storing and manipulating analyses output, basic linear algebra, and matrix manipulation.
While not a process one uses every day with Stata, when you need them, these functions can definitely make your life easier if you know how to use them.
UNIX Basics
Do you need 24/7 access to Stata from anywhere in the world? Do you have a data problem that is too big for a personal computer? Are you running into storage problems on the department's network? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then it is time you checked out the CRS UNIX servers.
UNIX is the operating system of choice for large central research computers and it is particularly well suited for dealing with very large data problems and computationally intensive statistical analyses. As an added advantage, users can connect remotely with a thin client over essentially any speed of network connection and still have access to their data and analytical software. This workshop will show you everything you need to conduct analyses on the CRS UNIX servers.
Enrollment in these workshops is open to all IT L&S supported faculty and graduate students.