We can use the CASE statement in SAS to create a new variable that uses case-when logic to determine the values to assign to the new variable.

This statement uses the following basic syntax:

proc sql;
    select var1, casewhen var2 = 'A' then 'North'
               	 when var2 = 'B' then 'South'
               	 when var2 = 'C' then 'East'
                 else 'West'
                 end as variable_name
    from my_data;
quit;

The following example shows how to use the CASE statement in practice.

Example: Using the CASE Statement in SAS

Suppose we have the following dataset in SAS:

/*create dataset*/
data original_data;
    input team $ points rebounds;
    datalines;
A 25 8
A 18 12
A 22 6
B 24 11
B 27 14
C 33 19
C 31 20
D 30 17
D 18 22
;
run;

/*view dataset*/
proc printdata=original_data;

We can use the following CASE statement to create a new variable called Division whose values are based on the values of the team variable:

/*create dataset*/
proc sql;
    select team, points, casewhen team = 'A' then 'North'
               	         when team = 'B' then 'South'
               	         when team = 'C' then 'East'
                	 else 'West'
                         endas Division
    from original_data;
quit;

Note that a new variable Division was created whose values are based on the values for the team variable.

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in SAS: