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 WesVarPC. The comparisons concentrate on user facility, computational efficiency, and program compatibilities.