I have a question for the Statalist.
Suppose I have a several date variables, each constructing a timeline of events.
Say, Date 1 < date 2 < date 3 < date 4.
They are supposed to follow in chronological order.
For a few cases, suppose date 3 occurs before date 2 (i.e. the values in Date 3 are in error).
My question is, if I wanted to calculate the window from (Date 1 to Date 2), or (Date 1 to Date 3), would it be better to fill in the data with the most conservative estimate possible?
For example, if the values for Date 3 are in error, then the LEAST conservative estimate for (Date 1 to Date 3) is equal to (Date 1 to Date 2). And by saying (Date 1 to Date 2), etc., I mean calculating the difference between the dates.
Conversely, the MOST conservative estimate for (Date 1 to Date 3) is equal to (Date 1 to Date 4), since Date 3 is supposed to occur between Date 2 and 4.
What should I do with these missing values then?
Should I just exclude from analyses?
Would this coding work?
replace Date_3 = Date_2 if Date_3==.
Thanks in advance!
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