Presenting a straightforward introduction from the ground up, SAS® Essentials illustrates SAS using hands-on learning techniques and numerous real-world examples; keeping different experience levels in mind, the highly qualified author team has developed the book over 25 years of teaching introductory SAS courses. This book introduces data manipulation, statistical techniques, and the SAS programming language, including SAS macros, reporting results in tables, and factor analysis, as well as section on character functions, variable manipulation, and merging, appending, and updating files. It features self-contained chapters to enhance the learning process and includes programming approaches for the latest version of the SAS platform. The Third Edition has been updated with expanded examples, a new chapter introducing PROC SQL as well as new end-of-chapter exercises. The Third Edition also includes a companion website with data sets, additional code, notes on SAS programming, functions, ODS, PROC SQL, and SAS Arrays, along with solutions for instructors. Specific sample topics covered in SAS® Essentials include: Getting data into SAS, reading, writing, and importing data, preparing data for analysis, preparing to use SAS procedures, and controlling output using ODS, Techniques for creating, editing, and debugging SAS programs, cleaning up messy data sets, and manipulating data using character, time, and numeric functions, Other essential computational skills that are utilized by business, government, and organizations alike, and DATA step for data management, Using PROC to analyze data, including evaluating quantitative data, analyzing counts and tables, comparing means using T-Tests, correlation and regression, and analysis of variance, nonparametric analysis, logistic regression, factor analysis, and creating custom graphs and reports. SAS® Essentials is a fundamental study resource for professionals preparing for the SAS Base Certification Exam, as well as an ideal textbook for courses in statistics, data analytics, applied SAS programming, and statistical computer applications.