This page is a collection of links for help with using R, SAS, SPSS, and Stata. The guides are very "from-the-ground-up" and cover multiple topics, from the basics of getting data into the program to various common data-management tasks to introductory data analysis.
These guides generally focus on using syntax to work with and analyze data in statistical software. While there are learning curves of varying degrees of steepness with each of these applications, a syntax-based approach to working with data is a more robust and reproducible means of doing empirical analysis and is the flip side of proper citation with regard to the coin of transparency in quantitative research. Simply put, syntax is documentation that spells out what you did to process and analyze the data and produce your findings, and access to that syntax thus shows others how you got your results. Some journals such as the American Economic Review and the American Journal of Political Science even require submission of syntax for cleaning and analyzing data as part of their submission policies on data availability.
For additional guidance on working with data, see the following:
R Resources:
"Articles on Statistical Computing - R" from the Social Science Computing Cooperative, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Advanced R," by Hadley Wickham
"Introducing R," by Germán Rodríguez, Princeton University
"Quick-R - 'Accessing the Power of R'"
"R Econ Visual Library, from the World Bank's DIME Analytics"
"R Graph Gallery"
"R for Data Science," by Garrett Grolemund and Hadley Wickham
"R - "Quick List of Useful R Packages"
"RStudio Cheat Sheets"
"R Graphics Cookbook," by Winston Chang
"R Markdown Cookbook," by Yihui Xie, Christopher Dervieux, and Emily Riderer
"Regular Expressions in R," from Dr. Joshua C. Fjelstul
"Resources to Help You Learn and Use R," from UCLA's Academic Technology Services
"Teaching R in a Kinder, Gentler, More Effective Manner: Teach Base-R, Not Just the Tidyverse," by Norm Matloff
"Tidyverse - R Packages for Data Science," by Hadley Wickham
"The Tidyverse Style Guide," by Hadley Wickham
SAS Resources:
"Articles on Statistical Computing - SAS Basics and SAS Topics" from the Social Science Computing Cooperative, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Demographic Tables and Subgroup Summary Macro %TABLEN," from the SAS Communities Library
"Documentation for SAS Products and Solutions," from the SAS Institute
"Graphically Speaking: Data Visualization with a Focus on SAS ODS Graphics," from the SAS Institute
"Knowledge Base / Samples and SAS Notes," from the SAS Institute
"Main Continuous and Historical NHANES Tutorials," from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - This collection focuses on NHANES data, but the tutorials have useful guidance for analysis of survey data more generally.
"Research Guides: SAS", from Georgia State University Libraries
"Resources to Help You Learn and Use SAS," from UCLA's Academic Technology Services
"SAS Conference Proceedings (1976-Present)" - For searching for papers and proceedings from SAS user conferences.
"SAS Example Code: Examples, Tips, and Tricks"
"SAS Tutorials," from Kent State University Libraries
"Topics in SAS Programming," from UNC's Carolina Population Center
SPSS Resources:
"Raynald's SPSS Tools," from Raynald Levesque
"Resources to Help You Learn and Use SPSS," from UCLA's Academic Technology Services
"SPSS Classes and Seminars," from UCLA's Academic Technology Services
"SPSS for Windows: Getting Started," from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas-Austin (.pdf) (via the Internet Archive)
"SPSS for Windows: Descriptive and Inferential Statistics," from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas-Austin (.pdf) (via the Internet Archive)
"SPSS for Windows: Displaying Data," from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas-Austin (.pdf) (via the Internet Archive)
"SPSS for Windows: Data Manipulation and Advanced Topics," from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas-Austin (.pdf) (via the Internet Archive)
"SPSS Online Training Courses," from LinkedIn Learning (see https://ats.emory.edu/sdl/student-resources/lil.html for Emory access to LinkedIn Learning)
"SPSS Software FAQs," from the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences at the University of Texas-Austin
"SPSS Tutorials," from Kent State University Libraries
"SPSS Tutorials," from Ruben Geert Van Den Berg in the Netherlands
"What Is SPSS 20 For Windows?" from the UK Data Service (.pdf)
Stata Resources:
"A Little Bit of Stata Programming Goes A Long Way," from Christopher Baum at Boston College (.pdf)
"Articles on Statistical Computing - Stata Basics and Stata Topics" from the Social Science Computing Cooperative, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
"CEU MicroData Stata Style Guide" from the Economics Department of the Central European University
"Getting Started in Data Analysis Using Stata and R," by Oscar Torres-Reyna, Princeton University
"Introduction to Stata," by Josh Errickson, University of Michigan
"Introduction to Stata," by Germán Rodríguez, Princeton University
"Main Continuous and Historical NHANES Tutorials," from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - This collection focuses on NHANES data, but the tutorials have useful guidance for analysis of survey data more generally.
"Resources for Learning Stata," from the Stata Corporation
"Resources to Help you Learn and Use Stata," from UCLA's Academic Technology Services
"The Stata Blog"
"The Stata Guide on Medium," from Asjad Naqvi
"Stata Cheat Sheets," from the "Fundamentals of Data Analysis and Visualization" Project
"Stata Cheat Sheets," from the Stata Corporation
"Stata Cheat Sheets," from Survey Design and Analysis Services
"Stata 17 Dates and Times Cheat Sheet," from Survey Design and Analysis Services
"Stata Visual Library," from the World Bank's DIME Analytics
