I'm very new to Stata (switching from SAS), and am trying to generate the code to solve for what is probably a very simple problem for most experienced Stata users. Here goes:
  • I'm using a data set with approximately 12,950 results.
  • I've already calculated 4 dummy variables, which are: VAR1, VAR2, VAR3, and VAR4
  • I want to generate a new variable, VAR5, which will be the result of five possible outcomes. See the following table as an example:
Possible Dummy Variables Desired
Outcomes VAR1 VAR2 VAR3 VAR4 VAR5
1 96 64 32 12 96
2 . 62 30 13 62
3 . . 24 10 24
4 . . . 11 11
5 . . . . .
  • What I want to have in VAR5 is the result from the earliest VAR, else "."
  • As can be seen in Outcome 1, VAR5 = the result from VAR1 (96), since it is the earliest. Outcome 2 = the VAR2 result (62) since VAR 1 = ".", Outcome 3 = the VAR3 result since VAR1 and VAR2 = ".", Outcome 4 = VAR4 result since VAR1, VAR2 and VAR3 are all ".", and, finally, Outcome 5 would return "." since VAR1, VAR2, VAR3 and VAR4 are all "."
I would appreciate any and all assistance.

Cheers!