Using spreadsheets for statistical analysis is free and convenient to use. These are the reasons why statisticians appreciate using Excel spreadsheets. Statistics is a complex subject matter that requires understanding and knowledge to be able to use and apply the different statistical functions available in Excel.

This article will discuss the different statistical functions and tools you can use when using Excel spreadsheets. You will find statistical data analysis easier to do using professionally made templates from Simple Sheets.

Analyze Data Using Excel Spreadsheet

Data analysis is not just about analyzing data for usable and relevant information to help businesses create their business plans and strategies. Data analysis also involves data collection and the organization and storage of data.

Data visualization is a critical part of data analysis. Data visualization represents data in a graphical manner which makes data in graphs easier to understand.

The process of data analysis is indicated below:

• Data requirements
• Collecting or gathering of data
• Data processing
• Data cleaning
• Data analysis
• Communication of data

Some Excel Functions for Statistical Data Analysis

You can use the Excel functions for statistical data analysis below.

1. AVERAGE

This function calculates the mean of a set of numbers. It measures the central tendency of a statistical distribution. The formula is =AVERAGE(data range).

2. AVERAGEIFS

This function calculates the mean of a set of numbers with one or more criteria. The formula is =AVERAGEIFS(average_range, criteria_range1, criteria1).

3. STANDARDIZE

This function measures the standard score based on a given mean and standard deviation. The syntax for STANDARDIZE function is =STANDARDIZE(x, mean, standard_dev).

4. STDEV.P

This function measures the standard deviation of a number set of a population. Use this function when your argument involves a whole population. The formula is =STDEV.P(number1, number2,..)

5. MEDIAN

The median function calculates the median of a number set. The syntax for the median is =MEDIAN(number1, number2,…).

6. Concatenate

The concatenate function may sound overwhelming. But, in reality, it is one of the easiest formulas to understand and execute. The concatenate function can combine data (dates, numbers, and text) from multiple cells in a single cell.

The formula is =CONCATENATE(text1, text2, text3,…)

7. VLOOKUP

VLOOKUP or Vertical LookUp function can look for a particular value in a column or row (table array). The lookup value finds matching data and usually appears in the lookup table's first column.

The formula is =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_range, column_index_num, [range_lookup]).

Microsoft Excel Data Analysis Tools for Statistics

1. Pivot Tables

Pivot tables summarize all the data in a list in a more straightforward format. The use of pivot tables help to summarize, analyze, and explore your spreadsheet's data sets. It can condense large volumes of data into an interactive table.

This tool is used to analyze data for the creation of business decisions. You can access the pivot table tab in the data menu.

2. Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics describes the features of a data set by creating summaries about sample data. Descriptive statistics is useful when working on large amounts of data to summarize.

Using a descriptive statistics tool can give you data trend ideas for the following:

• Skewness
• Mean, median, and mode
• Sample variance
• Standard deviation

3. Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical procedure that can be carried out using Excel spreadsheets. Regression is a process where a relationship is established among variables, both dependent and independent variables.

Using both an independent variable and a dependent variable, you can determine which variable significantly impacts your analysis.

4. ANOVA (Analysis of Variance)

This statistical technique is used to compare variances across means of various groups. It checks whether the mean of two or more groups has a significant difference or not.

There are three types of ANOVA in Excel. These are ANOVA single factor, ANOVA two factor with replication, and ANOVA two factor without replication.

5. Sampling

The sampling technique is common in Statistics and is a preferred Excel tool for statistical data analysis. Sampling is basically creating samples from a population. You may randomly choose values from a data set for sampling.

There are two sampling methods that you can perform in an Excel file. These are periodic sampling and random sampling.

In periodic sampling, you can specify a particular period you want your sample to take place. The xth value is in the input range. Every xth value is copied into the output range box or output column. Once you have reached the end of the input range, you can stop sampling.

While random sampling, on the other hand, you are the one specifying samples of random numbers. The random numbers are selected from the input range. A random number can be selected for sampling more than once.

6. Moving Average

Microsoft Excel has a built-in tool for calculating moving averages. This tool is called the Data Analysis Toolpak. This function is best used for time series data like weather reports, stock prices, etc. This function helps predict annual stock prices, the temperature in a city, and many more.

7. Rank and Percentile

This feature is very useful for distinguishing the rank of all data values in a list. You can use this function to determine which product or service your business offers contributes to your high revenue.

Knowing which product or service contributes to your high revenue helps you create business plans or marketing strategies to improve your overall service and product line.

8. Random Numbers Generator

The random numbers generator is another simple but useful function that you can use in Excel. The random numbers generator can generate a series of numbers and give you control over the results or data generated.

A random number is also called uniform distribution in statistics. It is called uniform distribution because the probabilities per number is uniform in a range of data values.

Conclusion

You can carry out statistical procedures using Excel spreadsheets. Excel spreadsheet is a dynamic data analysis tool allowing you to experiment with formulas and their built-in functionalities or features.

Using spreadsheets for statistical analysis is not easy because you need to have in-depth knowledge of Statistics to be able to determine which functionalities to use and how to use them. Knowing how to use Excel can significantly help make statistical analysis much easier and faster.