Generate and replace errors

[Briana Adams]

Hello, ultimately trying to take a categorical variable (9 categories) to 4 categories. I tried to generate a new variable and replace to code but I keep getting r(109) type mismatch.
generate race=.
(14,072 missing values generated)

. replace race =1 if momrace==1
type mismatch
r(109);

Thanks for any help!

[Clyde Schechter]

Well, momrace must be a string variable. You can confirm this by running

des momrace

If you are not planning to use momrace at all, or if you are content to use it as a string variable, then the simple fix is to just change the code to

replace race = 1 if momrace == "1"

However, if you plan to use momrace later on and if you need it to be a numeric variable then you need to convert it. Assuming that all of the values of momrace look like 1, 2, etc. (although they are really strings "1", "2", etc.) then you would convert it by using

destring momrace, replace

If you do that, then you can use your original -replace- command without modification.