Appendix 1.2

Appendix 1.2

Appendix 1.2
(See related pages)

Getting Started with Excel

We begin with a look at some features of Excel that are common to many analyses. When the instructions call for a sequence of selections from a series of menus, the sequence will be presented in the following form:

Tools: Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics

This notation indicates that Tools is the first selection from the Excel menu bar, next Data Analysis is selected from the Tools pull-down menu, and finally Descriptive Statistics is selected from the Data Analysis menu window. For many of the statistical and graphical procedures in Excel, it is necessary to provide a range of cells to specify the location of data in the spreadsheet. Generally, the range may be specified either by typing the cell locations directly into a dialog box or by dragging the selected range with the mouse. Though, for the experienced user, it is usually easier to use the mouse to select a range, the instructions that follow will, for precision and clarity, specify ranges by typing in cell locations. The selected range may include column or variable labels—labels at the tops of columns that serve to identify variables. When the selected range includes such labels, it is important to select the “Labels check box” in the analysis dialog box.

Starting Excel Procedures for starting Excel may vary from one installation to the next. If you are using a public computing laboratory, you may wish to consult local documentation. For typical Excel installations, you will generally be able to start Excel with a sequence of selections from the Microsoft Windows Start menu something like the following:

Select Start: Microsoft Office XP: Microsoft Office Excel 2003

You can also start Excel with a previously saved Excel spreadsheet (like Coffee.xls or one of the other data files from the CD-ROM included with this text) from the Windows Explorer by double-clicking on the spreadsheet file’s icon.

After starting Excel, the display will generally show a blank Excel workbook.

Help resources Like most Windows programs, Excel includes on-line help via a Help Menu that includes an Excel help wizard as well as a Contents and Index entry.

Entering data (entering the coffee temperature data in TABLE 1.7) from the keyboard (data file: Coffee.xls):

In a new Excel workbook, click on cell A1 in Sheet1 and type a label—that is, a variable name—(here, Temp) for the coffee temperatures.
Beginning in cell A2 (directly under the column label Temp) type the values for the variable (coffee temperatures from TABLE 1.7) down the column, pressing the Enter key following each entry.

Saving data (saving the coffee temperature data):

Select File: Save As.
In the “Save As” dialog box, use the “Save in” drop-down menu to select the destination drive and folder (here we have selected the floppy drive, A:).
Enter the desired file name in the “File name” box (here we have chosen the name Coffee). Excel will automatically add the extension .xls.
Click Save in the “Save As” dialog box.

Retrieving an Excel spreadsheet containing the coffee temperature data in TABLE 1.7 (data file: Coffee.xls):

Select File: Open
In the Open dialog box, use the “Look in” drop-down menu to select the source drive and folder (here we have selected the floppy drive, A:).
Select the desired file name in the “File name” box (here we have chosen the Excel spreadsheet Coffee.xls).
Click the Open button in the Open dialog box.

Creating a runs plot similar to Figure 1.3(b) (data file: Coffee.xls):

Click the Chart Wizard button on the Excel toolbar.
In the “Chart Wizard—Step 1 of 4” dialog box, click on Line in the Chart type menu and click Next>.
In the Step 2 dialog box, be sure that the range in the Data Range box is the correct range for the data and label. If not, enter the correct range (here A1:A25) in the Data Range box.
Under the “Series in” option, select Columns and click Next>.
In the Step 3 dialog box, click Next>.
In the Step 4 dialog box, click Finish.

The graph can be repositioned on the spreadsheet by dragging it with the mouse. The graph can be resized by dragging the sizing handles around the edge of the graph. Many formatting options are available by right-clicking various graph elements.

Printing a spreadsheet with embedded graph similar to Figure 1.3(b) (data file: Coffee.xls):

Click outside the graph to select the data and the graph for printing. (Click on the graph to select only the graph for printing.)
Select File: Print.
Click OK in the Print dialog box.

There are many print options available in Excel for printing—a selected range, selected sheets, or an entire workbook—making it possible to build and print fairly sophisticated reports directly from Excel.

Including Excel output in reports The preceding example showed how to print selected analysis results from Excel. Printing is a useful way to capture a quick hard-copy record of an analysis result and Excel offers a variety of options for building sophisticated reports. However, you may at times prefer to collect selected analysis results and arrange them with related narrative in a word processing document that can be saved and printed as a unit. Simply copy Excel results, selected spreadsheet ranges and graphs, to the Windows clipboard. Then paste them into an open word processing document. Once copied to a word processor document, Excel results can be documented, edited, resized, and rearranged as desired into a cohesive record of your analysis. The cut and paste process is quite similar to the Minitab examples at the end of Appendix 1.1.

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Home > Chapter 1 > Appendix 1.2

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