Path for do files

[NKeleher]

Open question to the group. What folder structure/path is most logical for do files?

Originally, I drafted the ipa-stata-template to store do files in scripts/do/ but I've heard from some that they would more naturally but do files in the root at do_files/

Which do you prefer?

1. ipa-stata-template/scripts/do
2. ipa-stata-template/do_files
3. Other?

@iabaako @krojas01 @dmartinezIPA @gitlastoni @kellymontano @dcarrillo99 @DavidTorresIPA @wkirui

[gitlastoni]

- do_files is closer to how things are traditionally set up, so in that sense more familiar, easier to get into perhaps (which I strongly support in principle) - but scripts/do fits better in the new world we're quickly moving towards. It's hard for me to see how going forward there won't be any py scripts and it seems the standard in that world in scripts/ and that would still be language agnostic. I know this is a stata-template originally but it seems very hard to justify a Stata-only folder even as of today. - In any non-trivial size project you'll probably have more layers anyway: scripts/baseline/..., scripts/endline/..., scripts/endline/cleaning, scripts/endline/analysis etc. - related question: is it bad practice to have do files live alongside py files, say, in e.g. scripts/endline/analysis? that's what I'm doing right now and it seems fine. I.e. do we need folder separation by language? - so my 'other' suggestion: scripts/clean, scripts/analysis, dump the do files right in there; even if the demo only has one or two each, since that's not a realistic final state of affairs anyway

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On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 8:43 AM Niall Keleher ***@***.***> wrote: *NKeleher* created an issue (PovertyAction/ipa-stata-template#30) <#30> Open question to the group. What folder structure/path is most logical for do files? Originally, I drafted the ipa-stata-template to store do files in scripts/do/ but I've heard from some that they would more naturally but do files in the root at do_files/ Which do you prefer? 1. ipa-stata-template/scripts/do 2. ipa-stata-template/do_files 3. Other? @iabaako <https://github.com/iabaako> @krojas01 <https://github.com/krojas01> @dmartinezIPA <https://github.com/dmartinezIPA> @gitlastoni <https://github.com/gitlastoni> @kellymontano <https://github.com/kellymontano> @dcarrillo99 <https://github.com/dcarrillo99> @DavidTorresIPA <https://github.com/DavidTorresIPA> @wkirui <https://github.com/wkirui> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#30>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BQMQX2YI2QP2DAGJD4PS2WD4G6KPRAVCNFSM6AAAAACRZOWYZOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43ASLTON2WKOZTHAYTONRTGYZDGOI> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[NKeleher]

Agreed. Having all scripts in a shared directory makes the most logical sense to me and was the initial motivation behind scripts/ since this aligns with an R or Python structure.

is it bad practice to have do files live alongside py files, say, in e.g. scripts/endline/analysis? that's what I'm doing right now and it seems fine. I.e. do we need folder separation by language?

I'm in favor of organizing files by task, not language.

Curious to hear from others.

[dmartinezIPA]

Hi everyone, I rather have scripts/analysis and scripts/cleaning and then do files, python scripts, r scripts in that same folder that all are making part of the cleaning or are alternatives to each other. I do not think we need folder separation by language, if the scripts have alternatives in different languages then it should be in the name and not in a different folder. Best, Daniel

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On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 1:51 PM Niall Keleher ***@***.***> wrote: *NKeleher* left a comment (PovertyAction/ipa-stata-template#30) <#30 (comment)> Agreed. Having all scripts in a shared directory makes the most logical sense to me and was the initial motivation behind scripts/ since this aligns with an R or Python structure. is it bad practice to have do files live alongside py files, say, in e.g. scripts/endline/analysis? that's what I'm doing right now and it seems fine. I.e. do we need folder separation by language? I'm in favor of organizing files by task, not language. Curious to hear from others. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#30 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BOHR6LJE2SBN6FJEKWOQZJT4G7ORZAVCNFSM6AAAAACRZOWYZOVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZTONJWGM3DOOBVGQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

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[NKeleher]

One thing we'll need to be cautious of esp. as we generate more code with Agents is that the multi-language approach could get messy. My expectation is that, at least for Claude, it's going to be overzealous about creating python code. This might be ok, but in some cases we might want to steer it towards Stata. @krojas01 and I did some testing with power calculations where Python/R/Stata were all options. Coding was ok as long as we provided clear templates but I did find that python scripts required less back-and-forth.