information from `label attribute` in R to `VARIABLE LABELS` in SPSS

Question

I'm working in R, but I need to deliver some data in SPSS format with both 'variable labels' and 'value labels' and I'm kinda stuck. I've added variable labels to my data using the `Hmisc`'s `label` function. This add the variable labels as a `label attribute`, which is handy when using `describe()` from the `Hmisc` package. The problem is that I cannot get the `write.foreign()` function, from the `foreign` package, to recognize these labels as variable labels. I imagine I need to modify `write.foreign()` to use the `label attribute` as `variable label` when writing the `.sps` file. I looked at the R list and at stackoverflow, but I could only find a post from 2006 on the R list regarding exporting varibles labels to SPSS from R and it doesn't seem to answer my question. Here is my working example, ``` # First I create a dummy dataset df <- data.frame(id = c(1:6), p.code = c(1, 5, 4, NA, 0, 5), p.label = c('Optometrists', 'Nurses', 'Financial analysts', '<NA>', '0', 'Nurses'), foo = L…

Accepted Answer

Try this function and see if it works for you. If not, add a comment and I can see what I can do as far as troubleshooting goes.

```
# Step 1: Make a backup of your data, just in case
df.orig = df
# Step 2: Load the following function
get.var.labels = function(data) {
  a = do.call(llist, data)
  tempout = vector("list", length(a))

for (i in 1:length(a)) {
    tempout[[i]] = label(a[[i]])
  }
  b = unlist(tempout)
  structure(c(b), .Names = names(data))
}
# Step 3: Apply the variable.label attributes
attributes(df)$variable.labels = get.var.labels(df)
# Step 4: Load the write.SPSS function available from
# https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-help/2006-January/085941.html
# Step 5: Write your SPSS datafile and codefile
write.SPSS(df, "df.sav", "df.sps")
```

The above example is assuming that your data is named `df`, and you have used `Hmisc` to add labels, as you described in your question.

Update: A Self-Contained Function

If you do not want to alter your original file, as in the example above, and if you are connected to the internet while you are using this function, you can try this self-contained function:

```
write.Hmisc.SPSS = function(data, datafile, codefile) {
  a = do.call(llist, data)
  tempout = vector("list", length(a))

for (i in 1:length(a)) {
    tempout[[i]] = label(a[[i]])
  }
  b = unlist(tempout)
  label.temp = structure(c(b), .Names = names(data))
  attributes(data)$variable.labels = label.temp
  source("http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2556524/R%20Functions/writeSPSS.R")
  write.SPSS(data, datafile, codefile)
}
```

Usage is simple:

```
write.Hmisc.SPSS(df, "df.sav", "df.sps")
```

information from `label attribute` in R to `VARIABLE LABELS` in SPSS

Solution

Problem