Model Quality Report in Business Statistics - Harvard ...

SAS-based systems, files must be transferred, and this usually requires some manual
intervention. The range of file types supported for input and output within the packages
reviewed here is sufficient that the data can be transferred fairly readily, although some
reformatting may be required. In these cases there is no good automated procedure.
2.2.9 Costs
The costs of the various packages are given in the following table.
Package Initial license Annual maintenance
CLAN free free
GES
C$30,000 for a site license
(unlimited number of users)
for one platform. Licenses
for additional platforms cost
C$7,500 each
STATA US$975 optional
SUDAAN
stand-alone
SAS-callable
US$995
US$800 (+US$260 each
additional user)
WesVar PC free free
C$3,000 for site license
(unlimited number of users)
Additional platforms cost
C$750 each
none, but upgrades must be
purchased
US$400 (+US$130 each
additional user)
Table 2.1 The costs of a single license for the evaluated software packages (information
correct at 1 January 1999).
2.3 Recommendations for variance estimation software for use in
EU member states
The current position with variance estimation software is confusing. There are no clearly
superior packages, and each has advantages and disadvantages which vary according to the
situation in the particular survey to be processed. The group II software packages (STATA
and SUDAAN) are only really appropriate when expansion estimation is used. In situations
where this is the only (or perhaps predominant) method, they offer several advantages
including fast processing, additional survey analysis features and a reasonably friendly
interface.
Where survey estimators are more complex, from ratio estimators to GREG estimation, only
CLAN and GES are really suitable in that they provide the correct variance estimators. They
also produce the appropriate survey weights, which are not available from the other software.
GES is very expensive and relatively slow, but has a reasonable user interface which leads
through the set-up process in a logical way. CLAN is free and slightly quicker, but requires
SAS programming experience and has no user interface beyond what SAS provides. This
“user-unfriendliness” could be seen as a feature to prevent people with insufficient
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