An Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis Using Statar: From Research Design to Final Report

An Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis Using Stata®: From Research Design to Final Report, Second Edition provides an integrated approach to research methods, statistics and data analysis, and interpretation of results in Stata. Drawing on their combined 25 years of experience teaching statistics and research methods, authors Lisa Daniels and Nicholas Minot frame data analysis within the research process―identifying gaps in the literature, examining the theory, developing research questions, designing a questionnaire or using secondary data, analyzing the data, and writing a research paper―so readers better understand the context of data analysis. Throughout, the text focuses on documenting and communicating results so students can produce a finished report or article by the end of their courses.

The Second Edition has been thoroughly updated with all new articles and data―including coverage of ChatGPT, COVID-19 policies, and SAT scores―to demonstrate the relevance of data analysis for students. A new chapter on advanced methods in regression analysis allows instructors to better feature these important techniques. Stata code has been updated to the latest version, and new exercises throughout offer more chances for practice.

Lisa Daniels is the Hodson Trust Professor Emeritus of Economics at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. She specializes in development in Africa, where she worked for 10 years, beginning as a Peace Corps volunteer. During her time in Africa, she studied agricultural markets, market information systems, poverty trends, and micro- and small-scale enterprises. As part of her research on micro- and small-scale enterprises, she directed national surveys of 7,000 to 56,000 households and businesses in Bangladesh, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, and Zimbabwe funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. In each survey, she was responsible for the questionnaire design, sample selection, data collection and analysis, and report preparation. Her work from these surveys and other research in Africa and Asia appears in consulting reports and in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to research and fieldwork, she has taught a range of courses over the past 28 years, including a research methods course and a data analysis course that she has taught over 20 times. She has also presented her work related to teaching at more than a dozen workshops.

Nicholas Minot is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, D.C. Since joining IFPRI in 1997, he has carried out research on agricultural market reform, income diversification, spatial patterns in policy, and food price volatility in developing countries. This research often involves carrying out surveys of farmers, cooperatives, traders, and consumers to better understand changes in food marketing systems. In addition to research, he is involved in outreach and capacity-building activities, including offering short courses on the use of Stata for survey data analysis. Before joining IFPRI, he taught at the University of Illinois in Urbana–Champaign, served as a policy adviser in Zimbabwe, and analyzed survey data in Rwanda. Overall, he has worked in more than two dozen countries in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and Asia.