# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# R programming statements for h203 data
#
# This file contains programming statements needed to import the ASCII data
# file (.dat) into R. The R programming language has the capability to produce
# appropriate standard errors for estimates from a survey with a complex sample
# design such as the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
#
# The input file is the ASCII data file (h203.dat) supplied in this PUF
# release, which can be extracted from the .zip file supplied at the MEPS
# website: https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files.jsp
#
# This code imports the MEPS data into R as a data frame called 'h203'.
#
# Note that additional packages are needed to successfully run this code. To
# install these packages, run the 'install.packages' function (shown below).
# Once installed, the packages can be called using the 'library' function.
# Packages only need to be installed once, but they must be called using the
# 'library' function every time a new R session is started.
#
# Two options are available to run this code:
#
# 1. Copy and paste the code into an interactive R session.
#
# The user must first download the ASCII (.dat) file from the MEPS website
# and save it to a local directory, which must be defined in the
# 'meps_path' variable below. In this example, the local directory is
# called "C:/MEPS". Note that the path structure will differ on Mac and PC.
#
#
# 2. Call this code directly from an interactive R session.
#
# (a) If the ASCII (.dat) file has already been downloaded from the MEPS
# website and saved to a local directory, the following code can be run
# (after re-defining the 'meps_path' variable to point to the location
# of the h203.dat file.)
#
# meps_path <- "C:/MEPS/h203.dat"
# source("https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h203/h203ru.txt")
# head(h203) # view data
#
#
# (b) Alternatively, the ASCII (.dat) file can be downloaded directly from
# the MEPS website. The following code can be used to download and
# import the h203 data into R without having to manually download,
# unzip, and store the file on your local computer.
#
# url <- "https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/pufs/h203dat.zip"
# download.file(url, temp <- tempfile())
#
# meps_path <- unzip(temp, exdir = tempdir())
# source("https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h203/h203ru.txt")
#
# unlink(temp) # Unlink to delete temporary file
#
# head(h203) # view data
#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# DEFINE 'meps_path' -----------------------------------------------------------
# 'meps_path' should point to the file path of the ASCII file (h203.dat)
# Here, the 'exists' function checks whether meps_path is already defined. This
# feature is useful if calling this file from an external source.
if(!exists("meps_path"))
meps_path = "C:/MEPS/h203.dat"
# INSTALL PACKAGES ------------------------------------------------------------
# Uncomment and run this portion if packages are not yet installed
#
# install.packages("readr")
# LOAD PACKAGES ---------------------------------------------------------------
# Run this for every new R session
library(readr)
# DATA FILE INFO --------------------------------------------------------------
# Define start and end positions to read fixed-width file
pos_start <-
c(1, 15, 26, 39, 42, 52, 59, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68, 72, 74, 78,
79, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104,
108, 113, 115, 117, 122, 124, 127, 129, 131, 133, 135, 137,
139, 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 152, 154, 156, 163, 165, 167,
169, 171, 173, 175, 177, 179, 184, 189, 191, 193, 199, 201,
210, 212, 218, 220, 222, 224, 233, 235, 237, 240, 242, 244,
246, 254, 256, 265, 267, 276, 278, 280)
pos_end <-
c(14, 25, 38, 41, 51, 58, 61, 62, 63, 65, 67, 71, 73, 77, 78,
79, 81, 83, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 101, 103, 107,
112, 114, 116, 121, 123, 126, 128, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138,
141, 143, 145, 147, 149, 151, 153, 155, 162, 164, 166, 168,
170, 172, 174, 176, 178, 183, 188, 190, 192, 198, 200, 209,
211, 217, 219, 221, 223, 232, 234, 236, 239, 241, 243, 245,
253, 255, 264, 266, 275, 277, 279, 281)
# Define variable names and types ('c' = character, 'n' = 'numeric')
var_names <-
c("JOBSIDX", "JOBSIDX_17", "JOBIDX", "JOBNUM", "DUPERSID",
"DUID", "PID", "RN", "OrigRnd", "PANEL", "JSTRTM",
"JSTRTY", "JSTOPM", "JSTOPY", "RETIRJOB", "SUBTYPE",
"STILLAT", "TYPECHGD", "MAIN_JOB", "DIFFWAGE",
"StillWorkFTPT", "WhyChngPTToFT", "WhyChngFTToPT",
"STILLWRK", "OFFTAKEI", "NOWTAKEI", "ESTBTHRU", "INSESTB",
"HIDISAVW", "RvwTotNumEmp", "WHY_LEFT_M18", "JOBTYPE",
"NUMEMPS", "ESTMATE1_M18", "ESTMATE2", "MORELOC", "BUSINC",
"PROPRIET", "TYPEEMPL", "YLEFT_M18", "YNOBUSN_M18",
"HRSPRWK", "HRS35WK", "TEMPJOB", "SESNLJOB", "SICKPAY",
"PAYDRVST", "PAYVACTN", "RETIRPLN", "WKLYAMT", "EMPLINS",
"JOBHASHI", "OFFRDINS", "DIFFPLNS", "ANYINS", "INUNION",
"PROVDINS", "HHMEMBER_M18", "TOTLEMP_M18", "TotNumEmp",
"SALARIED", "HOWPAID", "DAYWAGE", "HRSPRDY", "MAKEAMT",
"PERUNIT_M18", "HRLYWAGE", "MORE10", "MORE15", "MOREMINM",
"GROSSPAY", "GROSSPER", "SALRYWKS", "HRSALBAS", "EARNTIPS",
"EARNBONS", "EARNCOMM", "TIPSAMT", "TIPSUNIT_M18",
"BONSAMT", "BONSUNIT", "COMMAMT", "COMMUNIT", "INDCODEX",
"OCCCODEX")
var_types <-
c("c", "c", "c", "c", "c", "c", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n", "n", "n", "n", "c", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n", "n",
"n")
var_types <- setNames(var_types, var_names)
# IMPORT ASCII (.dat) file ----------------------------------------------------
h203 <- read_fwf(
meps_path,
col_positions =
fwf_positions(
start = pos_start,
end = pos_end,
col_names = var_names),
col_types = var_types)
# OPTIONAL: save as .Rdata file for easier loading ----------------------------
# Run this to save a permanent .Rdata file in the local working directory
#
# save(h203, file = "h203.Rdata")
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# NOTES:
#
# 1. This program has been tested on R version 3.6.0
#
# 2. This program will create a temporary data frame in R called 'h203'.
# You must run the 'save' command to permanently save the data to a local
# folder
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------