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RE: st: RE: Knowing how a variable was generated


From   Louis Boakye-Yiadom <[email protected]>
To   [email protected]
Subject   RE: st: RE: Knowing how a variable was generated
Date   Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:09:53 +0000 (GMT)

Many thanks for the insight. I didn't know about programmes such as -labgen-; I'll read about them. Thanks.

Louis

--- On Sun, 31/10/10, Nick Cox <[email protected]> wrote:

> From: Nick Cox <[email protected]>
> Subject: RE: st: RE: Knowing how a variable was generated
> To: "'[email protected]'" <[email protected]>
> Date: Sunday, 31 October, 2010, 16:46
> There are programs that enable users
> to record definitions of variables as they generate or
> replace them. See e.g. -labgen- from SSC and especially its
> references. 
> 
> More generally, if users employed variable labels or
> characteristics to record the definition of variables --
> then your problem is indeed soluble. 
> 
> I didn't imagine that's what you had in mind, as if you
> knew that definitions were stored that way it's hard to see
> why your question arises. 
> 
> Nick 
> [email protected]
> 
> 
> Louis Boakye-Yiadom
> 
> Nick, thanks for the reply. I was thinking that if it's
> possible for Stata to store information on the generation of
> the variable (at least in simple cases), it might be
> possible to have this feature in Stata.
> 
> Nick Cox
> 
> > In general, no. How could there be? 
> > 
> > However, in simple cases for Y calculated somehow from
> X,
> > looking at graphs of Y vs  X might give a clue. 
>  
> Louis Boakye-Yiadom
>  
> > If some of the variables in a dataset were generated
> by a
> > transformation or combination of some other
> variable(s) in
> > the data, is it possible to know this without seeing
> the
> > relevant log or do file? For example, consider a
> situation
> > where the variables in the data include A, B, C, and
> D, and
> > B was generated as follows:
> > B = A*C + D
> > Is there a command for determining how B was
> generated?
> 
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