Statalist


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date index][Thread index]

Re: st: Last modification to a data file


From   Maarten buis <[email protected]>
To   [email protected]
Subject   Re: st: Last modification to a data file
Date   Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:08:52 +0000 (GMT)

--- Louis Boakye-Yiadom <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks. I was, however, hoping there is a way of
> knowing the actual (or kind of) modification mdade.

The way to document the modifications you make to a 
data file is to make these modifications in a 
do-file, and save the original data and the do-file, 
and not the modified data. Whenever you need the 
modified data, you first run the do-file (I often 
call that do-file dataprep.do)

This is always a good idea, not only because that 
way you keep a complete record of all changes you 
made, but also because in a real data-analysis 
project everybody makes mistakes during data-
preparation. If you keep the original data and the 
do-file that made the modifications, than correcting 
the mistake is often matter of seconds. If you did 
not store the do-file, it is often a matter of days, 
and if you did not store the original data, all is 
lost.

-- Maarten

-----------------------------------------
Maarten L. Buis
Department of Social Research Methodology
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Boelelaan 1081
1081 HV Amsterdam
The Netherlands

visiting address:
Buitenveldertselaan 3 (Metropolitan), room Z434

+31 20 5986715

http://home.fsw.vu.nl/m.buis/
-----------------------------------------


      ___________________________________________________________ 
Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Visit Yahoo! For Good  http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/environment.html
*
*   For searches and help try:
*   http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html
*   http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/



© Copyright 1996–2024 StataCorp LLC   |   Terms of use   |   Privacy   |   Contact us   |   What's new   |   Site index