Thirty years with Stata: A Retrospective

INTRODUCTION

The view from the inside opens with an essay by Bill Gould, Stata’s president and cofounder, that discusses the challenges and concepts that guided the design and implementation of Stata. This is followed by an interview of Bill by Joe Newton that discusses Bill’s early interest in computing, his early work on a program for matching prom dates in the days when you had to purchase time on computers, and further exploration of the guiding principles behind Stata. Finally, Sean Becketti, Stata’s first employee, delves into the not-to-be-missed culture of Stata in its infancy.

 

The view from the outside comprises 14 essays by prominent researchers and members of the Stata community. Most discuss Stata’s use and evolution in disciplines such as behavioral sciences, business, economics, epidemiology, time series, political science, public health, public policy, veterinary epidemiology, and statistics. Some take a sweeping overview. Others are more intimate personal recollections.

 

Mostly, we simply wanted to celebrate the relationship between Stata users and Stata software. We hope that this volume holds something interesting for everyone.

 

© Copyright 1996–2023 StataCorp LLC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface (PDF)

 

I A vision from inside

 

1 Initial thoughts
W. Gould

 

2 A conversation with William Gould
H.J. Newton
2.1 Beginnings of Stata
2.2 Learning computing skills
2.3 The CRC
2.4 The arrival of Bill Rogers on the scene
2.5 The birth of ado-files
2.6 The move to Texas
2.7 How new Stata features happen
2.8 The Stata Journal
2.9 Modern StataCorp

 

3 In at the creation
S. Becketti

 

II A vision from outside

 

4 Then and now
S. Becketti
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Stata, then and now
4.3 Time-series analysis, then and now
4.4 Rocket science, then and now
4.5 Plus ça change
4.6 About the author

 

5 25 years of Statistics with Stata
L. Hamilton
5.1 Introduction
5.2 A brief history
5.3 Examples in Statistics with Stata
5.4 Future editions
5.5 About the author

 

6 Stata’s contribution to epidemiology
S. J. W. Evans and P. Royston
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Epidemiology and Stata
6.3 The future
6.4 About the authors

 

7 The evolution of veterinary epidemiology
I. R. Dohoo
7.1 History of veterinary epidemiology
7.2 Development of quantitative veterinary epidemiology
7.3 Distinctive aspects of veterinary epidemiology
7.4 Use of Stata in veterinary epidemiology
7.5 About the author

 

8 On learning introductory biostatistics and Stata
M. Pagano
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Teaching the course

8.2.1 Variability
8.2.2 Inference
8.2.3 Probability
8.2.4 Data quality

8.3 Conclusion
8.4 Acknowledgments
8.5 About the author

 

9 Stata and public health in Ohio
T. Sahr
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Stata distributed to Ohio counties
9.3 Local public health analytical personnel disparity
9.4 Training partnership with Stata
9.5 Scope of trainings partnership
9.6 Impact of the trainings
9.7 Future goals
9.8 About the author

 

10 Statistics research and Stata in my life
P. A. Lachenbruch
10.1 Introduction
10.2 My career using Stata
10.3 About the author

 

11 Public policy and Stata
S. P. Jenkins
11.1 Introduction
11.2 The credibility revolution in public policy analysis
11.3 A broader view of what counts as valuable public policy analysis
11.4 What is it about Stata?
11.5 Acknowledgments
11.6 About the author

 

12 Microeconometrics and Stata over the past 30 years
A. C. Cameron
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Regression and Stata
12.3 Empirical research and Stata
12.4 About the author

 

13 Stata enabling state-of-the-art research in accounting, business, and finance
D. Christodoulou
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Data on software citations and impact
13.3 Earning market share

13.3.1 Stata 7
13.3.2 Interface and code overhaul
13.3.3 Longitudinal panel-data analysis
13.3.4 Time-series analysis
13.3.5 Other key methods

13.4 Wishes and grumbles
13.5 Conclusion
13.6 About the author
A. Appendix

 

14 Stata and political science
G. D. Whitten and C. Wimpy
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Acknowledgment
14.3 About the authors

 

15 New tools for psychological researchers
S. Soldz
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Choosing Stata
15.3 About the author

 

16 History of Stata
N. J. Cox
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Californian creation
16.3 Texan transpose
16.4 Onwards and upwards
16.5 Pervasive principles
16.6 Acknowledgments
16.7 About the author

 

© Copyright 1996–2023 StataCorp LLC

Author: Enrique Pinzon (editor)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59718-172-3
©Copyright: 2015
e-Book version available

The view from the inside opens with an essay by Bill Gould, Stata’s president and cofounder, that discusses the challenges and concepts that guided the design and implementation of Stata.