How do I use a SAS data file in SPSS?

 

How do I use a SAS data file in SPSS?

 

1. Using SPSS software

SAS data files can simply be opened in SPSS as a data file.  SPSS supports SAS data files of different formats, such as .sas7bdat, .sd7, .sd2, .ssd01 and .xpt. These files can be read directly into SPSS either via using the pull-down menu or via using the syntax.

Using the pull-down menus select File -> Open -> Data… and then for Files of Type select the appropriate SAS data file type; then select the file from the list and click Open.

The SPSS command get sas can be used to read in a SAS data file via SPSS syntax.

get sas data='C:\data\states.sas7bdat'.

2. Using SAS software

In SAS, a SAS data file can be converted to an SPSS data file using proc export. For example, if a SAS data set called mydata is in the work directory, it can be converted into SPSS called mydata.sav. By specifying the file extension as .sav, SAS understands that the data file is to be converted to SPSS. In the process of conversion, SAS will automatically convert the variable labels and value labels as well.

proc export data=mydata outfile= "C:\data\mydata.sav";
run;

3. Stat/Transfer

Stat/Transfer can be used to convert SAS data files into SPSS data files, and doing this conversion is easy and straightforward.