An Evaluation of Alternative PC-Based Software Packages Developed for the Analysis of Complex Survey Data

Data from complex survey designs require special consideration with regard to variance and data analysis as a consequence of significant departures from simple random sampling assumptions. Using data from the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES), which is characterized by a complex survey design, three programs developed for the analysis of complex survey data in a personal computing environment are compared: Stata, SUDAAN, and Wes-VarPC. The comparisons concentrate on user facility, computational efficiency, and program capabilities.