What is the role of the FORMAT statement in SAS?

The FORMAT statement in SAS is specifically designed to apply a specific format to variables when producing output. This means that when data is presented or printed, the FORMAT statement helps control how the values of the variables are displayed. For example, it can be used to format numeric data to include a certain number of decimal places, display dates in a particular format, or represent currency in a specific way.

Using the FORMAT statement, you can enhance the readability of your output, making it more intuitive for users to interpret the results. This is particularly important in reporting or during data presentation, where the way data is visualized can influence understanding and decision-making.

Other options, while related to data manipulation, do not describe the primary function of the FORMAT statement. Renaming variables pertains to changing variable names, filtering involves selecting specific rows based on certain conditions, and creating new datasets is more about data manipulation and transformation, which would typically involve different SAS statements rather than the FORMAT statement.