Apply variable and value labels to a variable

jrelabel() attaches a variable label and/or value labels to any variable in a data frame. It is designed as a simple label applicator — it does not recode values or compare variables. Use it to add labels after a recode, to fix missing labels, or to label any variable that needs them.

The function accepts haven-labelled, plain numeric, factor, and character variables. The output is always a haven_labelled vector, which is compatible with all jstats functions.

Both the labels and var.label arguments are optional. If neither is supplied, the function returns the variable unchanged as a haven_labelled vector.

If the variable already has labels, they are silently overwritten when new labels are provided.

Usage

jrelabel(data, var, labels = NULL, var.label = NULL)

Arguments

data

A data frame containing the variable.

var

The variable to label (unquoted, e.g. StatusR).

labels

Optional. A quoted string specifying value labels using the format "code=Label Text" with rules separated by semicolons.

Examples:

• "1=Yes; 0=No"

• "1=Employed; 2=Unemployed; 3=Student; 4=Retired"

var.label

Optional. A quoted string to use as the variable label (the description shown by jdesc(), jfreq(), etc.). If omitted, any existing variable label is preserved. If the variable has no existing label, no variable label is set.

Value

A haven_labelled vector with the requested labels applied. Assign this back to a column in your data frame: MyData$VarName <- jrelabel(MyData, VarName, ...)

See also

jrecode for recoding values with optional labels in a single step.

jstats for the package overview, workflow conventions, and complete function listing.

Examples

# Add value labels after a recode
df <- data.frame(Status = c(1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2))
df$StatusR <- ifelse(df$Status == 1, 1, 0)
df$StatusR <- jrelabel(df, StatusR, labels = "1=Yes; 0=No",
                       var.label = "Status (recoded)")

# Add just a variable label
df$StatusR <- jrelabel(df, StatusR, var.label = "Employment Status")

# Add just value labels
df$StatusR <- jrelabel(df, StatusR, labels = "1=Yes; 0=No")

# Using juse() default
juse(df)
#> Default data frame set to: df
df$StatusR <- jrelabel(StatusR, labels = "1=Active; 0=Inactive")