Watch this Ask the Expert session to learn about the great mapping capabilities of SAS and its recent additions, by starting with the basics and expanding from there.
Watch the Webinar
You will learn how to:
- Create a simple map.
- Geocode using SAS procedures.
- Map those geocoded locations.
- Put it all together with newer mapping capabilities.
The questions from the Q&A segment held at the end of the webinar are listed below and the slides from the webinar are attached.
Q&A
I am an active user of geocoding in SAS for a government contract and am amazed at how few people are aware of SAS' resources in this area. Are there any plans for a PR campaign on its behalf?
This webinar is an attempt to do just that as well as the one upcoming that talks about what you can do with SAS Viya re mapping.
Can SAS generate a volume density map? Example: highway centerline is thicker based on higher traffic volume as compared to other highways.
This should be possible using TEMPLATE and SGRENDER.
Can you talk about using street level geocoded data and PROC GINSIDE to put data points into custom map areas (for example congressional districts)?
Sorry I was not able to get to this during the webinar. I am not sure how I would approach this. I will investigate it and update the post.
My understanding was that SASHELP.ZIPCODE was intended for SAS practice problems and not as a reliable data source to be used. Is that true?
It is semi-reliable in that it is not frequently updated. It is better to use another zipcode database like you suggest.
I have several papers on maps online and although it is better these days, the site is still kind of buried in the SAS documentation. Is there any way there can be a separate section of the documentation that directly discusses Maps online specifically (or if it already exists, publicize it a little)?
I do know that there is more documentation on the Viya capabilities, but I will check with Marketing.
Is ZIP%2B4 information the same as ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs)?
Zip+4 is a postal code that is more detailed than a zip code. A ZCTA is Census’ representation of a centroid of a polygon of the postal route – it is an approximation.
Do you have some sample data for us to run some examples? Where can we find the data for learning this procedure/exercise?
There are lots of examples in Dr. Robert Allisons web pages (google it! 😊 and the same map data is in the MAPS or MAPSGFK libraries if you license SAS/GRAPH.
Can we geocode in SAS 9.4?
Yes, I showed it in Viya/SAS Studio but the procedure is the same, proc geocode. You can run it from PC SAS, Enterprise Guide (talking to a 9.4 backend), UNIX-based SAS and of course, Viya.
I'm interested in 'population weighted' data by county. I have that data from ESRI. If I understand correctly, I could use PROC GEOCODE to get population centers of each county? I am currently using a hash to get latitude and longitude. But can I do this instead? This is a general description of the data that I’m using. "Esri 2018 USA Zip Code Points data file"
You are correct, use the “county” method in proc geocode.
What is the difference between mapping and geocoding?
Geocoding is the process of giving something an x and y coordinate. The examples I showed were addresses, zip codes, cities, etc. Mapping is taking data with coordinates and drawing them on a map or creating a map.
When you refer to ZIPs, are you mapping census zips (ZCTA) or postal zips?
Postal zip codes
Recommended Resources
SAS Maps Online
Main Geocoding page
Open-Source Code Node Example in Model Studio
Good geocoding blog
Moving from SAS®9 to SAS® Viya®
Move to Viya Board
Please see additional resources in the attached slide deck.
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