Problem with merging data files into one file

[Rushambwat]

Hi everyone, i am preparing a panel dataset to run analysis for my research project. The data files come separately and i have to combine them into one. This i have done using "merge" command functionality in Stata version 14. (Please find my attached do file). The merged dataset looks ok,..yet my programming is hazy and i am sure there can be a better method and i need t perfect my do file. Any contributions will be most helpful. Find the command and the dataset


//COMBINING WWAVE 1 PANEL STUDY
clear
cap log close
set more off
cd "C:\Users\MCFADDEN\Documents\DISSERTATION WRITING 2019\NIDS DATASETS\WAVE 1\Stata14"
log using "National Incomes Data Preparation.log" , text replace

//IMPORTING AND PREPARING WAVE 1 DATA FILES AND MERGING THEM INTO ONE FILE
//USING HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE AS MASTER DATASET AND MERGE USING HOUSEHOLD ROASTER
use "HHQuestionnaire_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", clear
duplicates report w1_hhid
duplicates drop w1_hhid if w1_hhid>1, force
sort w1_hhid
merge 1:m w1_hhid using "HouseholdRoster_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", update
drop _merge
save householdfile.dta, replace

///ADDING THE HOUSEHOLD DERIVED FILE
clear
use "hhderived_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", clear
sort w1_hhid
merge 1:m w1_hhid using "householdfile.dta", update
drop _merge
save "household_hhderived.dta", replace

//ADDING THE ADMIN FILE
clear
use "Admin_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", clear
duplicates drop w1_hhid, force
merge 1:m w1_hhid using "household_hhderived.dta", update
drop _merge
save household_admin_roster.dta, replace

///ADDING THE PROXY FILE
clear
use "Proxy_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", clear
sort pid w1_hhid
merge 1:m pid using "household_admin_roster.dta", update
drop _merge
save "household_admin_roster_adult_child_indder_proxy.d ta", replace

//ADDING THE ADULT QUESTIONNAIRE
duplicates drop pid, force
sort pid
merge 1:m pid using "Adult_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", update
drop _merge
save household_admin_roster_adult.dta, replace

///ADDING THE CHILD DATASET
clear
use "Child_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", clear
sort pid
merge 1:m pid using "household_admin_roster_adult.dta", update
drop _merge
save household_admin_roster_adult_child.dta, replace


///ADDING THE DERIVED DATA FILe
clear
use "indderived_W1_Anon_V7.0.0.dta", clear
sort pid w1_hhid
duplicates drop pid w1_hhid, force
merge 1:m pid using "household_admin_roster_adult_child.dta", update
drop _merge
save "nids_wave1.dta", replace

Please follow the link below to access the panel dataset from my drive, as i was not able to upload it here. https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0...v7.0.0-stata14

[Marcos Almeida]

Frankly, I didn't see any problem with the code.

[Phil Bromiley]

Let me add to Marcos' comment. If you have code that does what you need then there really is no great benefit to asking us to help you make it more elegant or efficient unless you plan to run this thousands of times.

There are elegant and efficient ways in Stata to do a wide variety of things, and if one finds them that's fine, but in terms of actually getting research done many of us will use less elegant solutions and get on with our work rather than spending a substantial amount of time looking for elegance. In your case, one might have imagined a loop over files with the contents of the loop being the merges, but you merge on different things which make such an loop not as easy or useful.

[Rushambwat]

Thank you Marcos Almeida and Phil Bromiley,..you see i am still new to Stata and i kinda came up with the Code after reading quite a number of books,..to get it right,..so i was not too sure if the output dataset was all correct. This is why i posted the Code and the dataset, so that whoever might run the code over the dataset and examine the output data may help me make observation i might have missed. However, if the existing code is ok, i will work with it as it is. And again, thank you so much.