Rapid Formation of Regression Tables for Research Purposes

The ostensible reason for a preparation of regression tables is to have them submitted to journals for publication purposes. Contrary to this professed view, regression tables are mostly used during research and not after. Journals require regression tables because they allow visual comparisons across regressions. It is difficult to compare specifications without placing them in close proximities, even if it means printing hardcopies. Past users of statistical packages have often resorted to printing hundreds of pages and flipping them back and forth. The technology for postestimation display has historically lagged behind the production of estimation itself. A bottleneck existed in the research process when regressions were produced much faster than they could be interpreted. The next logical step in the development of statistical packages is to be able to produce regression tables as fast and as naturally as performing regressions themselves. Regression tables ought to be produced easily, rapidly, and sequentially; they need to be displayed immediately on the computer screen. The usefulness of regression tables is much reduced if postponed until the end of your research. outreg, a program by John Gallup, has been modified and augmented extensively for this purpose. outreg2 will immediately produce and open formatted regression tables in programs associated with LaTeX, Word, or Excel files. seeout will immediately display a regression table in the Stata Data Browser.