Which procedure would you choose to summarize categorical data in SAS?

Choosing PROC FREQ to summarize categorical data in SAS is appropriate because this procedure is specifically designed to calculate and display the frequency distribution of categorical variables. It helps to determine how often each category occurs in the dataset and provides valuable insights into the data's distribution.

PROC FREQ can generate frequency tables, cumulative frequency tables, and can also produce graphical representations of categorical data. This functionality is essential when working with categorical variables, as it allows for a comprehensive understanding of the composition of the data. Furthermore, PROC FREQ can be utilized to perform chi-square tests, which are useful in testing hypotheses related to categorical data.

Other procedures, while useful in certain contexts, do not serve the same purpose. For instance, PROC MEANS is intended for summarizing continuous numeric data, providing measures such as means, medians, and standard deviations. PROC SORT is used for ordering data sets but does not summarize information. Similarly, PROC PRINT is meant for displaying data in a report format, rather than summarizing it. Therefore, PROC FREQ stands out as the most suitable choice for summarizing categorical data.