Statistical Analysis with Excel For Dummies

From Statistical Analysis with Excel For Dummies, 3rd Edition by Joseph Schmuller

Excel offers a wide range of statistical analysis tools and functions you can use to add a single value or an array of values to your Excel worksheets. You can download even more tools with the Excel Analysis Toolpak.

Some Excel Worksheet Functions

Excel can help you make all sorts of calculations. Here's a selection of Excel’s statistical worksheet functions. Each one returns a value into a selected cell.

Central Tendency and Variability
Function	What it calculates
AVERAGE	Mean of a set of numbers
AVERAGEIF	Mean of a set of numbers that meet a condition
AVERAGEIFS	Mean of a set of numbers that meet one or more conditions
HARMEAN	Harmonic mean of a set of positive numbers
GEOMEAN	Geometric mean of a set of positive numbers
MODE	Mode of a set of numbers
MEDIAN	Median of a set of numbers
VARP	Variance of a set of numbers considered to be a population
VAR	Variance of a set of numbers considered to be a sample
STDEVP	Standard deviation of a set of numbers considered to be a population
STDEV	Standard deviation of a set of numbers considered to be a sample
STANDARDIZE	A standard score based on a given mean and standard deviation

Relative Standing
Function	What it calculates
RANK	Rank of a number in a set of numbers
PERCENTRANK	Rank of a number expressed as a percent
PERCENTILE	The indicated percentile in a set of numbers
QUARTILE	The 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th quartile of a set of numbers

Correlation and Regression
Function	What it Calculates
CORREL	Correlation coefficient between two sets of numbers
PEARSON	Same as CORREL. (Go figure!)
RSQ	Coefficient of determination between two sets of numbers (square of the correlation coefficient)
SLOPE	Slope of a regression line through two sets of numbers
INTERCEPT	Intercept of a regression line through two sets of numbers
STEYX	Standard error of estimate for a regression line through two sets of numbers

Excel Array Functions

An array formula works with a series of data values rather than a one. Here are Excel's statistical array functions. Each one returns an array of values into a selected array of cells.

Function	Calculates An Array Of …
FREQUENCY	Frequencies of values in a set of values
LINEST	Regression statistics based on linear regression through two or more sets of numbers
TREND	Numbers in a linear trend, based on known data points
LOGEST	Regression statistics based on curvilinear regression through two or more sets of numbers

Excel Data Analysis Tools

Excel's Analysis ToolPak gives you a whole range of new statistical analysis tools. These are the tools in Excel's Analysis ToolPak. You load them as add-ins.

Tool	What it Does
Anova: Single Factor	Analysis of variance for two or more samples
Anova: Two Factor with Replication	Analysis of variance with two independent variables, and multiple observations in each combination of the levels of the variables.
Anova: Two Factor without Replication	Analysis of variance with two independent variables, and one observation in each combination of the levels of the variables.
Correlation	With more than two measurements on a sample of individuals, calculates a matrix of correlation coefficients for all possible pairs of the measurements
Covariance	With more than two measurements on a sample of individuals, calculates a matrix of covariances for all possible pairs of the measurements
Descriptive Statistics	Generates a report of central tendency, variability, and other characteristics of values in the selected range of cells
Exponential Smoothing	In a sequence of values, calculates a prediction based on a preceding set of values, and on a prior prediction for those values
F-Test Two Sample for Variances	Performs an F-test to compare two variances
Histogram	Tabulates individual and cumulative frequencies for values in the selected range of cells
Moving Average	In a sequence of values, calculates a prediction which is the average of a specified number of preceding values
Random Number Generation	Provides a specified amount of random numbers generated from one of seven possible distributions
Rank and Percentile	Creates a table that shows the ordinal rank and the percentage rank of each value in a set of values
Regression	Creates a report of the regression statistics based on linear regression through a set of data containing one dependent variable and one or more independent variables
Sampling	Creates a sample from the values in a specified range of cells