Last week I discussed ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models and showed how to illustrate the assumptions about the conditional distribution of the response variable. For a single continuous explanatory variable, the illustration is a scatter plot with a regression line and several normal probability distributions along the line. The
Over 400 enthusiastic SAS users gathered in San Diego September 9-11, 2015 for the 23rd annual WUSS 2015 conference. In this “digital age,” where so much of our communication is virtual and social, it was a treat to get out and meet SAS users face-to-face. The two and a half-days were packed
When I wrote my first paper, a poster for SUGI 13, yes it was SUGI back then, not SAS Global Forum, I had no idea what a wonderful journey I was embarking on. At the time, I thought that paper was just a way to get to a conference. That
Data integration, on any project, can be very complex – and it requires a tremendous amount of detail. The person I would pick for my data integration team would have the following skills and characteristics: Has an enterprise perspective of data integration, data quality and extraction, transformation and load (ETL): Understands
I've previously written about how to generate a sequence of evenly spaced points in an interval. Evenly spaced data is useful for scoring a regression model on an interval. In the previous articles the endpoints of the interval were hard-coded. However, it is common to want to evaluate a function
The SGPLOT procedure provides great tools to create all kinds of graphs for all domains from business to clinical. However, every so often, we need to create visuals that are not exactly graphs, but more like flow or network diagrams, or something entirely unique. Some users may have tools to
with Natalie Osborn, Senior Industry Consultant, Hospitality and Gaming Practice, SAS This week, we continue our fall “back to the basics” refresher series on analytics for hoteliers. Last week, in part one, Natalie and I reviewed the analytic methods that can be utilized by hoteliers. This week we will explore
I had the pleasure of speaking at the inaugural “Accounting IS Big Data” conference this past week in New York City, a meeting organized by the American Accounting Association. In addition to giving several talks, I participated in breakout sessions in which attendees discussed how analytics is used to monitor
We’ve all probably done it. It benefits others and yourself. You don’t get paid, but it always makes you feel good. Of course, I’m talking about volunteering. Jennifer Waller’s keynote presentation, “How To Get Your SAS On” was more than just a catchy title. The attendees at WUSS 2015 in
A friend who teaches courses about statistical regression asked me how to create a graph in SAS that illustrates an important concept: the conditional distribution of the response variable. The basic idea is to draw a scatter plot with a regression line, then overlay several probability distributions along the line,
One question I get asked a lot is: What is the most exciting new statistical feature in the 14.1 release? And they get a bit frustrated when I say: It depends. But it does depend! SAS statistical software provides a broad array of capabilities that help users track disease outbreaks,
In celebration of Work/Life hiring a new Elder Care Consultant, Kim Andreaus, I am posting this blog I wrote on tips for growing old with grace! George Vaillant, author of Aging Well, uses the long-term longitudinal Study of Adult Development (2002) to suggest six traits for growing old with grace.
Many years ago, SAS Support Communities began as a way to connect and help SAS users. Since that time, our communities have seen tremendous growth in membership and readership. Our members show a vast diversity of interests – both in terms of the topics that they discuss and in the
One of my top pet peeves is wasting food. My mom has always been the same way, so I know where I got it from. I remember our weekly “leftover night” as a child. My mom would pull out all the random leftovers from the week and that’s what was
In my prior two posts, I explored some of the issues associated with data integration for big data and particularly, the conceptual data lake in which source data sets are accumulated and stored, awaiting access from interested data consumers. One of the distinctive features of this approach is the transition
Ask any user how they first learned SAS and there’s a good chance they’ll cite The Little SAS Book as a resource they used to get started. Authors Lora Delwiche, Susan Slaughter, and Rebecca Ottesen have written a new book that promises to be just as helpful to new SAS
Statistical programmers often have to use the results from one SAS procedure as the input to another SAS procedure. Because ODS enables you to you to create a SAS data set from any ODS table or graph, it is easy to obtain a data set that contains the value of
I realized a little while ago that I may have more loyalty cards and memberships than the average person. (And that I more actively prove my loyalty than the average person). But as anybody who has ever signed up to a mailing list or for a store card knows, having
SAS/OR 14.1, which became available on July 14, delivers a number of new and enhanced features in optimization and simulation. These changes are designed to make SAS/OR even easier to use and to enable you to model and solve larger, more complex problems more efficiently. If you're using SAS/OR now,
with Natalie Osborn, Senior Industry Consultant, Hospitality and Gaming Practice, SAS. It’s back to school time, and back to school reminds me of getting back to the basics. So, we thought we’d start the fall with a “back to the basics” refresher series on analytics. To accomplish this, Natalie and
Suppose you wish to select a random sample from a large SAS dataset. No problem. The PROC SURVEYSELECT step below randomly selects a 2 percent sample: proc surveyselect data=large out=sample method=srs /* simple random sample */ n=1000000; /* sample size */ run; Do you have a SAS/STAT license? If not,
In my previous blog post, I showed how you can use SAS to program a "weaving" algorithm that takes an image, cuts it into strips, and weaves the strips together to create mathematical art. I used matrices and heat maps for the computations and visualization. At the end of the
I think everyone can agree that being able to debug programs is an important skill for SAS programmers. That’s why Susan Slaughter and I devoted a whole chapter to it in The Little SAS® Book. I don’t know about you, but I think figuring out what’s wrong with my program
I have been working on streaming analytics in conjunction with a project at Duke Energy, so a few months ago I was contacted by a colleague who wanted to look at the feasibility of applying what I’ve learned to our Internet of Things (IoT) initiative. In particular, we wanted to see if
As Gerry Nelson pointed out in an earlier post on 9.4M3, a new interface to the SAS Backup and Recovery Tool is available from the Administration application in SAS Environment Manager. This new SAS Backup Manager interface makes scheduling regular backups and executing ad hoc backups extremely easy to do
Big Data has become a technology buzzword. But how is Big Data changing insurance? Historically, insurance companies have used SMALL data to make BIG decisions. Today, insurers are using BIG data for SMALL decisions. What does this mean? Traditionally, insurance companies have aggregated data to group risks into broad categories
The digital disruption phenomenon is redrawing the market map. New players, products and services are gaining competitive advantage, while traditional business and revenue models are being questioned. Gartner believes that by 2020, thanks to the Internet of Things, information will be used to reinvent, digitalize or eliminate 80% of business
Often when the data includes some extreme difference in measures or some outliers, the plot of the data points can get skewed due to the need to accommodate the extreme outliers. The bulk of the observations get squeezed into a smaller region of the plot. While this may be useful
While I was in college, perhaps the lecture that stood out most to me was on proper running form from a Strength & Conditioning class. It wasn’t something I ever really thought about before. My only focus had been getting through my runs without dying! However, whether you are a serious marathon
Integrating big data into existing data management processes and programs has become something of a siren call for organizations on the odyssey to become 21st century data-driven enterprises. To help save some lost time, this post offers a few tips for successful big data integration.
