Which procedure is commonly used to analyze the distribution of categorical variables?

The procedure commonly used to analyze the distribution of categorical variables is PROC FREQ. This procedure in SAS is specifically designed to calculate and display frequency distributions for categorical data.

When you use PROC FREQ, it generates frequency tables that show the count and proportion of each category within the variable. This is essential for understanding the distribution of categories, identifying the most common categories, and detecting any patterns within the data.

In contrast, PROC MEANS is utilized for summarizing continuous variables by calculating statistics like mean, median, variance, and standard deviation. It is not applicable for categorical data analysis. PROC SORT is used for arranging data in a specified order but does not provide any statistical analysis of distributions. PROC PRINT is primarily for displaying data in a readable format without performing any analysis on the distribution of categorical variables.

Thus, PROC FREQ is the appropriate choice for analyzing the distribution of categorical variables, making it the correct answer.