ABSTRACT
Surprisingly, data entry and manipulation can be one of the most timeconsuming parts of statistical analyses. In some cases, the actual statistical analyses may be inconsequential compared to the work of getting data into the program in the right format. This can be particularly problematic if you are getting data you didn’t create. A colleague or official government source may give you data in a form that must be manipulated in some significant way prior to analysis. Stata offers a wealth of commands for just such purposes that can make quick work of the most intractable dataset. In fact, there is a reference manual devoted to the subject, called Data Management* from Stata Corporation.
