qlqc30 command / stata deletes vars that dont need to be deleted

[JJ vanK]

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf...867X1501500407

Hi there,
I have quality of life data that i want to analyse using the qlqc30 command (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf...867X1501500407)
I have installed the package and sorted my vars (npat, q1-30, arm, visit) just like the manual tells me to. I also have other vars in my dataset of my own.

When I run the command I get the following error: "variable npat not found"
What happens is: stata deletes my variables npat, visit and arm.
It is non-exsistant. When I generate new vars for npat, visit and arm, it gets deleted again when running the command.
What am I doing wrong?

[Nick Cox]

I would write to the first author if you don't get a response. Forgive me if I am wrong but I don't recognise any of those names as names of people active on Statalist. That doesn't rule out a reply, but in this particular case it makes one very unlikely. The command is what you need when you need it but not one that would be part of the day-to-day practice of most experienced users here.

In turn please note that "JJ vanK" doesn't obviously qualify as a full real name. Please note our request in the FAQ that you use one such.

[William Lisowski]

I've installed qlqc30 and looked at the code. The very first things done by qlqc30 are to (a) change the working directory to the one given by the path() option, if it was specified, (b) use the dataset given by the required filename() option, and (c) confirm the existence of the required variables like npat, visit, and arm.

So when you say "Stata deletes the variables npat, visit, and arm" I think you mean that in preparing the input file you somehow caused Stata to drop those variables. Or else the dataset qlqc30 is reading is not the dataset you meant it to read.

You could confirm the contents of your dataset with

describe using "yourdata"
qlqc30, filename("yourdata") ...

or if you are using the path() option

describe using "yourpath/yourdata"
qlqc30, filename("yourdata") path("yourpath") ...