CODEWITHSUNDEEP
rtidyverse
RAH
RAH

Reputation: 474

R rename multiple columns based on partial string match - pipe

I have a dataset where the column names are survey questions and are extensive, sometimes containing different punctuation from panel to panel. As such, I would like to rename all column titles that are a partial string match to a more sensible var name.

My current attempt was:

df %>%
  select_all(~str_replace(., "How would you describe your gender?", "cnt_gender"))

However, this only replaces the exact string match and leaves any others. For example:

Target string: "How would you describe your gender? (Select only one option)"

df %>%
  select_all(~str_replace(., "How would you describe your gender?", "cnt_gender"))

Desired output string: "cnt_gender"
Actual output string: "cnt_gender (Select only one option)"

What I am looking for is to completely rename the columns based on a partial string match.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 525

Answers (1)

DaveArmstrong
DaveArmstrong

Reputation: 21802

You can use .* after the string you want to replace to capture anything else that might be lurking beyond (including nothing).

Target_strings <- c("How would you describe your gender? (Select only one option)", 
                    "How would you describe your gender?")
str_replace(Target_strings, "How would you describe your gender?.*", "cnt_gender")
# [1] "cnt_gender" "cnt_gender"

Upvotes: 2

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