InfoGuides: Working with Data: File Formats & Conversion

File Formats

Why it Matters: Data Sharing Part 2 (the "Panda" video series)
Best practices for file formats (Stanford Libraries)

File Extensions

File Extensions - How to show and recognize extensions, and why that is important (Bleeping Computer)
File Extensions - Brief version (GCF Learn Free)
How to Show or Hide Filename Extensions On Your Mac (macmostvideo)

Common File Types

What kind of file(s) do I have? Look at the file extension. Starting from the top, find the first row that is for any of your files.

If you have one of these...	File Type	What to do
.zip, .tar, .gz, .rar	Zip File	Unzip it, see the tab for instructions
.sav, .por, dta, .xpt, .stc, .sas7bdat	Software-specific	See the box "Converting Data"
.sps, .do, .dct, .sas, .R	Syntax files, used to import	See the tab "Setup Files"
.xls, .xlsx, .ods, .mdb, .dbf	Spreadsheet or Database	Most software can Import these
.csv, .tsv, .tab	Delimited Text (ex. ASCII)	Most software can Import these
.txt, .dat	Other Text (ex. ASCII)	Look at the documentation
.xml, .json, .html	Structured Text or Markup	Look at the documentation

Zip Files

Files are compressed, or zipped, to save storage space and/or to bundle several files together.

Instructions on how to unzip files:

Windows 7
Windows 8
Mac - Just double-click the .zip file

Even though you can see what is in the .zip file, you must unzip the file before you can open the individual files in the archive.

If the extension is ".tar.gz". You will likely need to use 7-zip or another program to unzip it. Just unzip it twice (once to get rid of the .gz, and the second time to get rid of the .tar).

Setup Files

In some cases, you will need to download data in ASCII (text) format and use a setup file (typically .sps, .do or .sas) to get it into your software.

Many statistical packages will not run a set-up file unless you reset the Windows default setting that hides file extensions.

SPSS: Roper, ICPSR (pdf), YouTube
Stata: Roper, ICPSR (pdf), YouTube
- You should have three files, a .do file, and .dic file and a datafile (usually .txt or .dat)
SAS: ICPSR (pdf), YouTube

Comma Separated Values (CSV) is a useful file format for spreadsheets. It can be opened easily in programs like Excel.

How to Create a CSV File (ComputerHope)
vs Excel: Comparison Table (Guru99), Difference Between (toggl)

Converting Data (SPSS, Stata, SAS, R)

Data File Extensions

SPSS: .sav ( .por is their "portable" format )
Stata: .dta ( for .dct , see "Setup Files" )
SAS: .sas7bdat, .xpt ( for .stc files, use CIMPORT )

What software do you want to use?

SPSS or SAS

Both SPSS and SAS can open from and save files to SPSS, Stata, and SAS without additional steps.

Stata

from SPSS: On Windows, you can open .sav files with usespss (see tab).
from SAS: For SAS Transport files (.xpt), use import sasxport.
Alternatively, you can use Stat/Transfer or R. See tabs in this box for more info.

R

DataCamp’s This R Data Import Tutorial Is Everything You Need
ICPSR's How do I read data into R? (pdf)

Stat/Transfer

Data Services has a software called Stat/Transfer that can convert files from one software to another.

Stop by the Data Services Lab or email datahelp@gmu.edu for assistance.
Stat/Transfer is also available in the Founders Hall computer lab (Arlington Campus).

SPSS to Stata: Using Stata

Best option, but WINDOWS ONLY

1. Open Stata on a Windows computer

2. In the command window, submit the below syntax;

set more off net from http://radyakin.org/transfer/usespss/beta net install usespss usespss

3. Select the SPSS .sav file in the dialog box that will pop up.

4. Save the data file [in Stata format]

SPSS to Stata: Using R

1. Download the installation file from CRAN ( pdf with details )

2. Install then open R ( screenshots )

3. At the prompt (>), paste the following lines and press enter,

library(foreign) file <- file.choose() spss <- read.spss(file) data <- as.data.frame(spss) attr(data,"var.labels") <- as.vector(attr(spss,"variable.labels")) write.dta(data, sub('.sav','.dta',file))

4. Select the SPSS .sav file in the dialog box that will pop up.

5. Look for the Stata (.dta) file in the same directory.

Notes:

User Missing values are kept as is and not converted to Stata missing values.
String variables are "encoded" into labeled numeric variables.
String variables with labels do not transfer properly.

SAS to Stata: Using R

1. Download the installation file from CRAN ( pdf with details )

2. Install then open R ( screenshots )

3. At the prompt (>), paste the following lines and press enter,

install.packages("haven") library(haven) file <- file.choose() sas <- read_sas(file) write_dta(sas, sub('.sas7bdat','.dta',file))

4. Select the SAS .sas7bdat file in the dialog box that will pop up.

5. Look for the Stata (.dta) file in the same directory.