A Gentle Introduction to Stata, Revised Sixth Edition

Alan C. Acock's A Gentle Introduction to Stata, Revised Sixth Edition
is aimed at new Stata users who want to become proficient in Stata.
After reading this introductory text, new users will be able to not
only use Stata well but also learn new aspects of Stata.

Acock assumes that the user is not familiar with any statistical
software. This assumption of a blank slate is central to the structure
and contents of the book. Acock starts with the basics; for example,
the part of the book that deals with data management begins with a
careful and detailed example of turning survey data on paper into a
Stata-ready dataset. When explaining how to go about basic exploratory
statistical procedures, Acock includes notes that will help the reader
develop good work habits. This mixture of explaining good Stata habits
and explaining good statistical habits continues throughout the book.

Acock is quite careful to teach the reader all aspects of using Stata.
He covers data management, good work habits (including the use of
basic do-files), basic exploratory statistics (including graphical
displays), and analyses using the standard array of basic statistical
tools (correlation, linear and logistic regression, and parametric and
nonparametric tests of location and dispersion). He also successfully
introduces some more advanced topics such as multiple imputation and
multilevel modeling in a very approachable manner. Acock teaches Stata
commands by using the menus and dialog boxes while still stressing the
value of Stata commands and do-files. In this way, he ensures that all
types of users can build good work habits. Each chapter has exercises
that the motivated reader can use to reinforce the material.

The tone of the book is friendly and conversational without ever being
glib or condescending. Important asides and notes about terminology
are set off in boxes, which makes the text easy to read without any
convoluted twists or forward referencing. Rather than splitting topics
by their Stata implementation, Acock arranges the topics as they would
appear in a basic statistics textbook; graphics and postestimation are
woven into the material naturally. Real datasets, such as the
General Social Surveys from 2002, 2006, and 2016, are used
throughout the book.

The focus of the book is especially helpful for those in the
behavioral and social sciences because the presentation of basic
statistical modeling is supplemented with discussions of effect sizes
and standardized coefficients. Various selection criteria, such as
semipartial correlations, are discussed for model selection. Acock
also covers a variety of commands available for evaluating reliability
and validity of measurements.

The revised sixth edition is fully up to date for Stata 17, including
updated discussion and images of Stata's interface and modern command
syntax. In addition, examples include new features such as the
table command and collect suite for creating and
exporting customized tables as well as the option for creating graphs
with transparency.