Module 1: Introduction to Data, Variables, and STATA

Module 1: Introduction to Data, Variables, and STATA

STATA playlist

Open the full YouTube playlist

This module introduces the building blocks of quantitative analysis: variable types, data structure, value labels, and basic STATA workflow. A recurring theme of the course is that the type of outcome variable determines the model you should use, so this module lays the conceptual groundwork for everything that follows.

Students should be able to distinguish between continuous, categorical, binary, and count outcomes; understand why coding matters; and begin navigating STATA confidently.

Key ideas

  • Variable type shapes model choice.
  • Labels and coding choices matter for interpretation.
  • Clean setup in STATA makes later regression work easier.

Starter commands

describe
codebook
tab varname
tab varname, nolabel
summarize

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