Stat/Transfer is a widely used third party application that enables you to convert data files to over 30 different formats. This includes analysis programs such as Strata, SPSS and Epi info.


Note: You will need to have a copy of Strat/Transfer to make use of this export format.


There are two types of files that are important to consider for the Stat/Transfer export format: the data file (which has a ".dat" file extension) and the definition file (which has a ".stdd" file extension). The data file contains the response data and the definition file contains the associated metadata which describes the response data types, code values, etc.


Note: No binary or multimedia data are included in the Stat/Transfer export.  




When selecting the Stat/Transfer export format, you will be able to configure a few export options:



Repeating groups

You can choose how to handle repeating groups in your export:

  • By selecting "Export each group as a separate file", a separate data file and definition file pair will be created for each group and nested group. These will all be zipped up into a single archive which you can extract after downloading.
  • By selecting "Export repeating groups as separate files", all non-repeating groups and nested groups will be merged into a single data file and definition file pair. Each repeating group (and nested group) will generate its own data and corresponding definition files. All files will be zipped up into a single archive which you can extract after downloading. 


Multi-select option naming

There are also two options which can be used to determine the naming convention for multi-select field types. When exporting multi-select field types, a column/variable is generated for each available option which is then represented as "selected" (1) or "not selected" (0).


Assume you have a multi-select field "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS" with 3 options: Television (value: TV), Radio (value: R) and Fridge (value: F):

  • By selecting "Append option values to field name", the column/variable names generated for each option will be labelled by appending the relevant option's value to the field name. E.g. "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS_TV", "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS_R", "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS_F".
  • By selecting "Append option text to field name", the column/variable names generated for each option will be labelled by appending the relevant options's text to the field name. E.g. "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS_Television", "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS_Radio", "HOUSEHOLD_ITEMS_Fridge".


Converting from Stat/Transfer to another format

  1. Once the export has been generated, extract the zip file. 
  2. Open Stat/Transfer and select "ASCII/Text - Stat/Transfer Schema" as the Input File Type. 
  3. Once you have done that, browse to the ".stsd" file you extracted from the export download.