[Stata] Data Cleaning: How to Export and Import Stata Variable Labels into Do File
Data management in statistical analysis often requires consistent documentation across multiple datasets. Variable labels in Stata serve as critical metadata that enhance interpretability and documentation quality. When working with derivative datasets or merged data sources, maintaining label consistency becomes essential.
This article examines an approach for preserving and transferring variable labels across multiple Stata datasets.
The following code implements an automated solution for extracting and reapplying variable labels:
* Export variable labels from original dataset
use "original_data.dta", clear // Replace with your source data file name
* Create a temporary file to store the variable labels
tempfile labelfile
tempname fh
file open `fh' using "`labelfile'", write
* Write the file header
file write `fh' "* Variable label definitions" _n
file write `fh' "* Generated on $S_DATE at $S_TIME" _n _n
* Loop through all variables and write their labels to the file
foreach var of varlist * {
local lbl : variable label `var'
* Check if variable has a label
if "`lbl'" != "" {
file write `fh' `"label variable `var' "`lbl'""' _n
}
}
* Close the file
file close `fh'
* Export the labels to a permanent do-file
copy "`labelfile'" "variable_labels.do", replace
* Output confirmation
di as text "Variable labels have been exported to variable_labels.do"Implementation for Secondary Datasets
Application of the extracted labels to subsequent datasets can be done by using the following code (or you can simply copy and paste):
use "new_data.dta", clear
do "variable_labels.do"
save "new_data_labeled.dta", replaceThis procedure applies all previously defined labels to corresponding variables in the new dataset.
