L. Philip Schumm () (Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago) Ronald A. Thisted (Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago)
Abstract
In this presentation we shall address two issues concerning the research process: (1) the need for an efficient way to transfer results obtained using a statistical package into a written report, and (2) the need to organize and to package one's work so that those results are easily reproducible. Previous work addressing these issues has concentrated on tools written specifically for use with S-Plus/R and LaTeX, and has involved mixing code and written material in a single document (e.g., Sweave). In contrast, our approach involves a method for extracting results (e.g., estimation results, graphs, and even pieces of code and/or raw output) generated by a suitably organized do-file (or files) into a series of intermediary files which can then be easily imported into a second, written document. Although the document could be constructed in a variety of formats, we shall demonstrate how this may done using reStructuredText -- an intuitive and easy-to-use markup syntax which can then be automatically translated into a variety of final formats (e.g., LaTeX, HTML). This system may be used not only for research but also when teaching statistics with Stata as a method for students to organize and to submit their work.
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