st: Re: standardizing

[baum <baum@bc.edu>]

--On Monday, December 30, 2002 2:33 -0500 Sheela wrote:

> I know this is a really basic question, but I really can't figure
> something  out:
>
> I want to standardize the variables in my dataset (there are 36) without
> typing "egen zvar1=std(var1)" 36 times.
>
> Is there a quicker way to get Stata to standardize all variables in a
> dataset  at once?
>
> I searched through some past archives before filling your inboxes with
> what  feels like a way-too-simple question but didn't find anything. Any
> advice?
And one solution that has not been offered... constructs like var1-var36 
require that the 36 variables be contiguous in your data set (which they 
nay not be). The wildcard var* is inappropriate if there are some var* that 
should not be z'd, and _all is not likely to be appropriate in many 
circumstances. A solution that avoids these (assuming that there really are 
36 vars) is

forval i=1/36 {
	egen zvar`i'=std(var`i')
	}

which unlike the solution with 'foreach' does not require that the 
variables be listed, nor does it make any assumptions about the ordering of 
variables in the data set.

Kit
________________________________________________________________________
Christopher F Baum, Boston College Economics, Chestnut Hill MA 02467 USA
baum@bc.edu                              http://fmwww.bc.edu/ec/baum.php
	


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