Claire,
Yes, it is possible to merge on more than one variable. In fact, in the
example that I posted yesterday, -merge- used both momid and year to merge
the data set back to the original (which I called foo.dta).
Scott
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:owner-
> [email protected]] On Behalf Of Claire M. Kamp Dush
> Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 9:43 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: st: Merge two long datasets? and re: stopping loops
>
> Thanks Scott for the tip. I did make a mistake in copying my data, so
> thanks for pointing that out. I have one follow-up and one new question:
>
> First, there is the continue command for breaking out of loops. I just
> found it in the Stata 9 Programming manual. So, anyone who is trying to
> figure that out might want to check out that manual [P] under continue. I
> wish I had found it earlier.
>
> Second, before I found that command, I did as you advised, and managed to
> merge the data together beautifully. However, this poses another
> question:
>
> Is it possible to merge on two variables? That is, can I merge two
> datafiles by momid AND by year at the same time? Or, is it always
> necessary to convert both datasets back to wide form, then merge, then
> reconvert the new dataset to long. This is what I did. I have done some
> digging to try to figure out how to merge long datasets, and I have always
> come up short.
>
> Claire
>
>
>
> At 03:27 PM 8/23/2006, [email protected] wrote:
> >I didn't read through all your code, but perhaps, using -merge- can
> >accomplish your goal. See the exmaple below. Also it is not clear
> >how, starting with your initial data set, you get the 1991 Divorced
> >and 1992 Remarried for momid 2 in your final data set.
> >
> >Scott
> >
> >
> >. l , noobs sepby(mom)
> >
> > +---------------------------------------------------+
> > | momid year type1 y1 type2 y2 |
> > |---------------------------------------------------|
> > | 1 2000 Married 2000 . |
> > | 1 2001 . . |
> > | 1 2002 Separated 2001 Divorced 2001 |
> > | 1 2003 . . |
> > | 1 2004 . . |
> > |---------------------------------------------------|
> > | 2 1988 Married 1987 . |
> > | 2 1989 . . |
> > | 2 1990 . . |
> > | 2 1991 . . |
> > | 2 1992 . . |
> > | 2 1993 . . |
> > | 2 1994 . . |
> > | 2 1995 . . |
> > | 2 1996 Divorced 1993 . |
> > | 2 1997 . . |
> > | 2 1998 . . |
> > | 2 1999 . . |
> > | 2 2000 Remarried 1998 . |
> > +---------------------------------------------------+
> >
> >. drop year
> >
> >. rename y1 year
> >
> >. sort mom year
> >
> >. merge mom year using "C:\Documents and
> >Settings\scott.merryman\Desktop\foo.dta"
> >variables momid year do not uniquely identify observations in the
> >master data
> >
> >. drop if year ==.
> >(13 observations deleted)
> >
> >. drop _m
> >
> >. sort mom year
> >
> >. order mom year type1 y1 type2 y2
> >
> >. l, noob sepby(mom)
> >
> > +---------------------------------------------------+
> > | momid year type1 y1 type2 y2 |
> > |---------------------------------------------------|
> > | 1 2000 Married 2000 . |
> > | 1 2001 Separated . Divorced 2001 |
> > | 1 2002 Separated 2001 Divorced 2001 |
> > | 1 2003 . . |
> > | 1 2004 . . |
> > |---------------------------------------------------|
> > | 2 1987 Married . . |
> > | 2 1988 Married 1987 . |
> > | 2 1989 . . |
> > | 2 1990 . . |
> > | 2 1991 . . |
> > | 2 1992 . . |
> > | 2 1993 Divorced . . |
> > | 2 1994 . . |
> > | 2 1995 . . |
> > | 2 1996 Divorced 1993 . |
> > | 2 1997 . . |
> > | 2 1998 Remarried . . |
> > | 2 1999 . . |
> > | 2 2000 Remarried 1998 . |
> > +---------------------------------------------------+
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Claire M. Kamp Dush" <[email protected]>
> >Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 12:52 pm
> >Subject: st: programming: stopping loops?
> >To: [email protected]
> >
> > > Hello, I feel embarrassed to post this because I am sure the
> > > answer to this
> > > is obvious, but I have been puzzling over this issue for a few
> > > hours. I am
> > > trying to recode the family structure data in the NLSY 79 through
> > > 2004. I
> > > am trying to go back and recode the data for missing years based
> > > on reports
> > > of marital changes between interviews at follow-ups. For
> > > instance, if an
> > > individual was interviewed in 1991 and not in 1992, in 1993 they
> > > are asked
> > > to report up to 3 marital changes since the last time they were
> > > interviewed. My data is stacked, with each individual having 26
> > > lines of
> > > data, for years 1979 through 2004. The id variable is momid and
> > > the year
> > > variable is year. change1type, change2type, and change3type are
> > > measured
> > > each year where the respondent has data, and is a categorical
> > > variable with
> > > categories including married, divorced, separated, widowed, etc.
> > > changey1_
> > > , changey2_, and changey3_ are the years in which the each change
> > > is said
> > > to occur. Here is an example of what the data look like:
> > >
> > > momid year change1type changey1_ change2type
> > > changey2_1 2000 Married 2000
> > > 1 2001
> > > 1 2002 Separated 2001 Divorced
> > > 2001
> > > 1 2003
> > > 1 2004
> > > 2 1988 Married 1987
> > > 2 1989
> > > 2 1990
> > > 2 1991
> > > 2 1992
> > > 2 1993
> > > 2 1994
> > > 2 1995
> > > 2 1996 Divorced 1993
> > > 2 1997
> > > 2 1998
> > > 2 1999
> > > 2 2000 Remarried 1998
> > >
> > > My goal is to have my data look like the following:
> > >
> > > momid year change1type changey1_ change2type
> > > changey2_
> > > change1misstype change2misstype
> > > 1 2000 Married 2000
> > > Married
> > > 1 2001
> > > Separated Divorced
> > > 1 2002 Separated 2001 Divorced
> > > 2001
> > > 1 2003
> > > 1 2004
> > > 2 1987
> > > Married
> > > 2 1988 Married 1987
> > > 2 1989
> > > 2 1990
> > > 2 1991 Divorced 1991
> > > Divorced Remarried
> > > 2 1992 Remarried 1991
> > > 2 1993
> > > Divorced
> > > 2 1994
> > > 2 1995
> > > 2 1996 Divorced 1993
> > > 2 1997
> > > 2 1998
> > > Remarried
> > > 2 1999
> > > 2 2000 Remarried 1998
> > >
> >
> >
> >*
> >* 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/
>
> Claire M. Kamp Dush, Ph.D.
> Postdoctoral Fellow, Evolving Family Theme Project
> Cornell University
> Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center
> Bebee Hall
> Ithaca, NY 14853
> 607-255-9908
> http://www.socialsciences.cornell.edu/0407/evolv_fam_desc.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/
*
* 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/
