Introduction to Stata and Statistical Analysis

This set of flashcards covers the basic concepts and terminology used in Stata and statistics, including data types, statistical methods, and commands used in data analysis.

Stata

A powerful statistical data analysis software that can perform various analyses including descriptive and inferential statistics.

Descriptive Statistics

Statistical methods used to summarize or describe the characteristics of a data set.

Inferential Statistics

Statistical methods used to make generalizations or predictions about a population based on a sample.

Qualitative Data

Data that is non-numeric and describes characteristics or qualities, typically in the form of words.

Quantitative Data

Data that is numeric and can be measured, typically represented in numbers.

Primary Data

Data collected firsthand by an investigator for a specific purpose.

Secondary Data

Data that has been collected and analyzed by someone else and is used for further analysis.

Independent Variables

Variables that are thought to predict or affect the outcome of another variable.

Dependent Variables

Variables that are measured or observed in response to changes in independent variables.

Nominal Variables

Categorical variables where the categories do not have a logical order.

Ordinal Variables

Categorical variables where the categories have a logical order or ranking.

Binary Variables

Variables that fall into two categories, such as yes/no or male/female.

Ratio Variables

Quantitative variables with a meaningful absolute zero point and equality of intervals.

Interval Variables

Quantitative variables that have equality of intervals but do not have a meaningful zero point.

Population

The complete group of people or items that a researcher is interested in studying.

Sample

A subset of the population that is selected for the study.

Mean

The average value of a data set calculated by summing all the values and dividing by the number of values.

Median

The middle value in a data set when the values are arranged in ascending order.

Mode

The most frequently occurring value in a data set.

Standard Deviation

A measure of the dispersion or spread of a set of values around the mean.

Log

A file used in Stata to save all output generated during a session.

Tabulate Command

A command used in Stata to generate frequency tables for categorical data.

Codebook Command

A command used in Stata to provide detailed information about the variables in a dataset.

Help Command

A command in Stata that provides documentation and detailed information about other commands.

Do File

A script file in Stata used to record commands for later execution.

Value Labels

Labels assigned to numeric values in categorical variables for easier interpretation.