This week the focus of our studies involved exploring SQL (structured query language) and its compatibilities and functions within SAS software. Essentially, SQL is a database management language that is among the database languages built into SAS. SQL has the ability to manage and organize structured data, and SAS can use the simple SQL commands to product additional data management using the PROC SQL command.
PROC SQL is yet another function that SAS uses to effectively and efficiently manage data to generate relevant information. It also further proves the broad capabilities and complexity of the SAS software in that it had the ability to comprehend different query languages. SQL is often considered a more straightforward and simplistic language, which makes using SAS all the more user-friendly. Nevertheless, it is an entirely separate language with different syntax rules and commands, which can stand as a point of difficulty for someone learning SAS. I, myself, found it tricky to keep the two languages and the rules associated with each clear.
This week, our project focused on combining and organizing several data sets concerned with Opioid use rates to reach more precise and conclusive analyses around the investigation into the opioid abuse crisis. The procedures we utilized would have been very useful in several projects I have worked on in the past, including projects where the goal was to collect, organize and analyze patient data for hundreds of physicians that were participating in a specific clinical trial. Previously, I would use simple Excel commands to search and select desired data, which proved to be a much more limiting and time consuming method of data withdrawal.
