Descriptive Statistics in SAS PROC TABULATE

by finnstats

Descriptive Statistics in SAS, PROC TABULATE provides a convenient way to display descriptive statistics for one or more variables in a clear tabular format.

Descriptive Statistics in SAS

Below are examples using a dataset that includes the total points scored by 12 different basketball players.

Creating the Dataset

First, let’s define the dataset that contains the relevant information:

/* Create dataset */
data my_data;
    input team $ position $ points;
    datalines;
A Guard 15
A Guard 12
A Guard 29
A Forward 13
A Forward 9
A Forward 16
B Guard 25
B Guard 20
C Guard 34
C Forward 19
C Forward 3
C Forward 8
;
run;

/* View the dataset */
proc print data=my_data;
run;

Example 1: PROC TABULATE with One Variable

To calculate and display descriptive statistics for the points variable, use the following code:

/* Create table to display descriptive statistics for points variable */
proc tabulate data=my_data;
    var points;
    table points * (N Min Q1 Median Mean Q3 Max);
run;

Explanation of the Statistics:

N: Total number of observations
Min: Minimum value
Q1: First quartile (25th percentile)
Median: Median value
Mean: Average value
Q3: Third quartile (75th percentile)
Max: Maximum value

From the output, you would observe:

Total observations: 12
Minimum points: 3
25th percentile (Q1): 10.5
Median points: 15.5
Mean points: 16.92
75th percentile (Q3): 22.5
Maximum points: 34

These statistics provide a comprehensive understanding of the distribution of points.

Example 2: PROC TABULATE with Two Variables

To show descriptive statistics for the points variable, categorized by the team variable, use the following code:

/* Create table to display descriptive statistics for points, grouped by team */
proc tabulate data=my_data;
    class team;
    var points;
    table team, points * (N Min Q1 Median Mean Q3 Max);
run;

The resulting table breaks down the descriptive statistics for points for each of the three teams. For instance:

Team A: 6 observations, minimum points: 9, 25th percentile: 12, median: 14, etc.

Example 3: PROC TABULATE with Three Variables

To calculate descriptive statistics for points, grouped by both team and position, utilize the following code:

/* Create table to show descriptive statistics for points, grouped by team and position */
proc tabulate data=my_data;
    class team position;
    var points;
    table team, position * points * (N Min Q1 Median Mean Q3 Max);
run;

This table displays descriptive statistics for points, segmented by both the team and position variables. It’s important to note that some cells may be empty, such as for Team B at the Forward position, indicating that there were no players in that category.

Conclusion

With PROC TABULATE, you can efficiently calculate and present descriptive statistics for one or more variables in a structured tabular format, providing valuable insights into your dataset.

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Descriptive Statistics in SAS PROC TABULATE