4.10 Resolve warning or error messages
There are different types of warning and error messages that may appear.
Many errors are caused by invalid values for variables. To see the valid categories and intervals for variables, take a look at the Variables view.
Below describes some of the messages that are likely to occur and steps to resolve them. The examples assume using a PUMF CCHS 2013/14 file.
4.10.1 Invalid category
The value for a variable in the row is not one of the recognized category values.
Example: Age (Variable: DHHGAGE) value of 50.
Why it’s an error: The recognized age categories are between 1 and 16.
4.10.2 Out of range
The value for a variable in the row is outside of the recognized range of values.
Example: Daily fruit consumption (Variable: FVCDFRU) value of 25.
Why it’s an error: The recognized daily fruit consumption range is between 0 and 20.
4.10.3 Not a number
The value for a variable in the row is not a number, and can’t be processed.
Example: Age (Variable: DHHGAGE) value of FIVE.
Why it’s an error: The variable’s value must be a number.
4.10.4 Sample size is too small
A small sample size could be the result of one or more of the following:
- The input file has a small sample size
- The filters that were applied reduced the number of rows significantly
- The calculation is being stratified, and one or more of the groupings has a small sample size
- There were a significant number of rows with errors
Rows with one or more errors won’t be processed, and won’t be included in the sample size. Rows with no errors will be processed and included in the sample size, even if they have warnings.