2. Research Guides

Stata Resources

Your source for all things Stata

Provided below are detailed instructions for accessing the Stata software package. 

Vanderbilt University provides its users with remote access to the Basic Edition (BE) of Stata via a virtual desktop.  Alternately, educators and students may purchase more sophisticated versions of Stata at discounted rates. 

The final section compares Stata's various software packages and offers recommendations according to users' needs.    

Access

Free Access for Vanderbilt Users

The Vanderbilt University Library system provides remote access to both SPSS and Stata.  Currently, the VU Library system maintains a Stata/BE (Basic Edition) network license for ten (10) simultaneous users.  To use one of these copies of Stata, users must access a virtual desktop.  The following set of instructions explains how. 

 

AWS Access

Here are detailed instructions for accessing the virtual desktop for Stata (educational use only).  

Please be aware that in order to access Vanderbilt's AWS Appstream you will need a VUNet ID and will be required to use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). After you implement MFA:

  • Go to http://vu.edu/aws
  • Enter your Vanderbilt email address or vuNet ID followed by your Vanderbilt password.
  • Accept the DUO prompt pushed to your default device.
  • Select one of your available catalogs.

Screen shot of Amazon AppStream Catalogs  

  • Select either “Desktop” or the appropriate application.

Screen shot Amazon AppStream Select Catalog

  • It can take several minutes for your session to be prepared.
  • Enter your Vanderbilt password, if prompted.

Screen Shot Amazon AppStream Password Prompt

  • Please be patient while you are logged into your session.

There is no “logout” option; when done, simply close the browser Window to disconnect.

 

 

 

Purchase for Personal / Professional Use

To purchase Stata for home, personal, and/or professional use

All users:
  1.     Go to https://www.stata.com/order/
  2.     Select United States (or appropriate country).
  3.     Click "View pricing" button at bottom.
For staff, faculty, or VU affiliates:
  1.     Select Education ► New Purchase ► Single User
  2.     Input "Vanderbilt University" or "Vanderbilt University Medical Center" in field titled "Enter Institutional Name."
  3.     Review differences between available Stata packages (more on this below).
  4.     Determine appropriate subscription length--annual or multiyear.
  5.     Select preferred plan and click green Buy button.
  6.     Follow instructions on screen to add product to cart, download, and install. 
For students
  1.     Select Student ► New Purchase
  2.     Review differences between available Stata packages.
  3.     Determine appropriate subscription length--6-month or annual--or opt for perpetual license.
  4.     Select preferred plan and click green Buy button. 
  5.     Follow instructions on screen to add product to cart, download, and install.

 

In case you run into issues downloading or installing the software package, StataCorp provides exhaustive instructions here.  

 

Stata Versions

Different Stata Flavors for Different Applications

StataCorp offers users the choice between three different software packages:

  • Stata/BE (Basic Edition)
  • Stata/SE (Standard Edition)
  • Stata/MP (Multiprocessor) 

It is easy to get lost in a tangle of technical specifications, but suffice to say here that successive versions can process more data and process those data faster.  Stata/BE, for example, can handle 2,048 variables and fit models with 798 independent variables.  Stata/SE accommodates both datasets containing far more total variables--32,767--and models containing up to 10,998 independent variables.  While the former package may be adequate for many uses, be aware that many of the most popular datasets in the social sciences can have many thousands of variables.  For instance, the 2021 General Social Survey (GSS) has over 5,000.  Stata/BE either may limit the researcher's ability to work with these datasets, limit her horizon of possible analytic models, or demand awkward workarounds in other statistical software (e.g., preparing data in SPSS or SAS for analysis in Stata).  The cost savings between Stata/BE and Stata/SE may help one justify these limitations, or perhaps the user plans to work with smaller datasets. 

 

In any case, please refer to StataCorp's comprehensive guide to the various Stata packages before finalizing any purchase.