Descriptive data analysis: COUNT, SUM, AVERAGE, and other calculations

1. Introduction

Part 1 of this Excel module will introduce you to the structure and format of an Excel file, and we will learn how to undertake some basic descriptive analyses of health data.  We will be using the software program Excel to manage our data, undertake a few key calculations, and present the data in a graph.

This first part of the Excel module will give you the foundational skills to help you in subsequent parts of the module.

 

On completion of Excel module: Part 1, you should be able to:

1:  Navigate an Excel data sheet by identifying the data contained in rows versus columns;

2:  Calculate means, standard deviations, counts and proportions using formulas in Excel; and

3:  Create a graph in Excel.