What is the difference between PROC MEANS and PROC SUMMARY in SAS?

PROC MEANS and PROC SUMMARY are both procedures in SAS used for summarizing data, but they have some differences in their functionality.

• PROC MEANS: PROC MEANS provides descriptive statistics such as mean, median, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, and other measures for numeric variables in the dataset. It calculates these statistics for all the variables or specified variables in the dataset. PROC MEANS also allows for customization of the output and the exclusion of missing values.
• PROC SUMMARY: PROC SUMMARY is similar to PROC MEANS but is more flexible in the sense that it allows for more complex summaries to be calculated. PROC SUMMARY can create custom summary statistics using SAS functions and can also be used to create multiple levels of grouping variables for summarization.

When would you use each of them in data analysis?

PROC MEANS is commonly used when you need to quickly generate basic descriptive statistics for numeric variables in a dataset, especially when you want to get a summary of multiple variables at once. It is straightforward to use and provides a concise summary of the data.

PROC SUMMARY, on the other hand, is used when you require more advanced summarization techniques or need to create custom summary statistics. It is particularly useful when you need to calculate summary statistics based on specific grouping variables or want to include more complex calculations in the summary.

Overall, the choice between PROC MEANS and PROC SUMMARY depends on the complexity of the data analysis task at hand and the level of customization required for the summary statistics.