Introduction to Excel 2007

We will use Excel to:

 Define the terms spreadsheet and worksheet.

 Identify the parts of a worksheet.
 Store and organize data,
 Analyze data, and
 Represent data graphically (e.g., in bar
graphs, histograms, and scatterplots)
Introduction to Spreadsheets
 Microsoft Excel 2007 is the spreadsheet
program in Microsoft Office 2007.
 A spreadsheet is a grid of rows and
columns in which you enter text, numbers,
and the results of calculations.
 In Excel, a computerized spreadsheet is
called a worksheet. The file used to store
worksheets is called a workbook.
Exploring the Parts of the
Workbook
 Each workbook contains three worksheets
by default. The worksheet displayed in the
work area is the active worksheet.
 Columns appear vertically and are
identified by letters. Rows appear
horizontally and are identified by numbers.
 A cell is the intersection of a row and a
column. Each cell is identified by a unique
cell reference.
Exploring the Parts of the
Workbook (continued)
 The cell in the worksheet in which you can type
data is called the active cell.
 The Name Box, or cell reference area, displays
the cell reference of the active cell.
 The Formula Bar displays a formula when a
worksheet cell contains a calculated value.
 A formula is an equation that calculates a new
value from values currently in a worksheet.
 Spreadsheets in Excel are referred to as worksheets. A
workbook file may contain many worksheets.
Sizing
Button
Help Button
Quick Access s
Toolbar
Home
Ribbon Ribbon
Tabs
Formula Bar
Name Box
Column Letter
Headings
Fx Insert
Function
Contents of
Button
Active Cell
displayed on
Row Numbers
Formula Bar

Scroll
Bars

Sheet Tabs Insert

View Buttons Zoom
Worksheet
Button
Selecting a Group of Cells
 A group of selected cells is called a range. The
range is identified by its range reference, for
example, A3:C5.
 In an adjacent range, all cells touch each other
and form a rectangle.
 To select an adjacent range, click the cell in a corner
of the range, drag the pointer to the cell in the
opposite corner of the range, and release the mouse
button.
Entering Data in a Cell
 Worksheet cells can contain text,
numbers, or formulas.
 Text is any combination of letters and
numbers and symbols.
 Numbers are values, dates, or times.
 Formulas are equations that calculate a value.
 You enter data in the active cell.
Formulas and Functions
 Formulas are equations that perform
calculations in your spreadsheet. Formulas
always begin with an equals sign (=). When
you enter an equals sign into a cell, you are
basically telling Excel to “calculate this.”

 Functions are Excel-defined formulas. They

take data you select and enter, perform
calculations on them, and return value(s).
Things you need to know when
writing formulas in Excel

 Data precision vs. cell

display
 Types of operators that
/ ≤ −
can be used
 Order of precedence of
operators =B2+B3*B1/B8^2
In order to write Excel formulas we also
need to use the correct Operator
Symbols

Formulas contain two types of components:

 Operators: Operations to be performed

Arithmetic operators: * / + - ^
Relational operators: >, <, <=, >=,< >,=
 Operands: Values to be operated on
Addition
= B2 + 5 Operator

Operands
Precedence of Operators
 ( ) Parenthesis is a special operator that
forces evaluation of the expression inside it
first
 Exponentiation (2^3 8)
 Arithmetic operators: Multiplication & Division
 Multiplication & Division have equal precedence and are evaluated
from left to right
 Arithmetic operators: Addition & Subtraction
 Addition & Subtraction have equal precedence and are evaluated
from left to right
 Relational operators have a lower
precedence than arithmetic operators
More on Functions
 All functions have a common format – the equals
sign followed by the function name followed by the
input in parentheses.
 The input for a function can be either:
 A set of numbers (e.g., “=AVERAGE(2, 3, 4, 5)”)
 This tells Excel to calculate the average of these numbers.

 A reference to cell(s) (e.g., “=AVERAGE(B1:B18) or

“=AVERAGE (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8)”
 This tells Excel to calculate the average of the data that
appear in all the cells from B1 to B8.
 You can either type these cell references in by hand or by
clicking and dragging with your mouse to select the cells.
Functions for Descriptive Statistics
Below are several functions you will need to
learn for this class. Try them out with the
practice data set.
=AVERAGE(first cell:last cell): calculates the mean
=MEDIAN(first cell:last cell): calculates the median
=MODE(first cell:last cell): calculates the mode
=VARP(first cell:last cell): calculates the variance
=STDEVP(first cell:last cell): calculates the standard deviation
 You may directly write the functions for these statistics into
cells or the formula bar, OR
 You may use the function wizard ( in the toolbar)
Functions for Descriptive Statistics
 Your Excel
spreadsheet should
now look like this:
Part 2: Correlations and Scatterplots
Correlations
A quick review:
 Every correlation has a direction (positive or
negative):
 + correlation: high scores on one variable are
associated with high scores on another variable.
 - correlation: high scores on one variable are
associated with low scores on the other variable.
 Every correlation has a magnitude or strength:
 The closer the correlation coefficient is to +1.00 or
-1.00, the stronger it is.
 The closer the correlation coefficient is to 0.00,
the weaker it is.
Calculating Pearson’s r
 Correlations are described using the Pearson
Product-Moment correlation statistic, or r value.
 In Excel, there are many functions that can
calculate a correlation statistic, however, we will
only use =PEARSON in this class.

Let’s say we want to determine if there is a

relationship between number of hours spent per
week studying for Psych 209 and GPA earned in
the class at the end of the quarter. To do so, we
can calculate Pearson’s r for our two variables.
 Enter the following data into Excel:

StudyHrs = average number of hours spent per week studying for 209
GPA = grade-point average earned in 209 at the end of the quarter
Step 1: Select the cell where you want your r
value to appear (you might want to label it).
Step 2: Click on the function wizard button.
Step 3: Search for and select PEARSON.
Step 4: For Array1, select all the values under StudyHrs.
For Array2, select all the values under GPA.
 Step 5: That’s it! Once you have your r value,
don’t forget to round to 2 decimal places.

Knowledge check: What does the r value of 0.88 tell you about
the strength and direction of the correlation between StudyHrs
and GPA?
Scatterplots
 A scatterplot is an excellent way to visually
display the relationship (correlation) between
two variables.
 Each point on the scatterplot represents an
individual’s data on the two variables.

 We will now create a scatterplot for StudyHrs

and GPA.
Step 1: Select both columns of variables you
wish to plot (StudyHrs and GPA).
Step 2: Click on the tab labeled ‘Insert’, and then
select ‘Scatter’ in the ‘Charts’ menu.
Step 3: Select the first plot in the drop-down menu.
Step 4: Remove the legend by clicking on it
and pressing Delete.
Step 5: Add axis titles by selecting the ‘Layout’ tab
and clicking on ‘Axis Titles.’ For the horizontal title,
you want it below the x-axis. For the vertical title,
you want the ‘Rotated Title’ option.

NOTE: Your
chart must be
highlighted for
the ‘Layout’ tab to
appear under
‘Chart Tools.’
A note about x- and y-axes:
 For scatterplots, it does not matter which variable
goes on each axis (this is NOT true for other
types of charts).
 However, you need to make sure you label your
axes with the proper variable name.
 In this example, GPA is on the y-axis and Study
Hours is on the x-axis (we can tell this based on
their different ranges of values).
 As a helpful hint, Excel will automatically put the
first variable (left-hand column) on the x-axis, and
the second variable (right-hand column) on the y-
axis.
Step 6: Change the chart title by selecting it, typing a
new one, and pressing Enter. Chart and axis titles
may be altered by right-clicking on them.
Your scatterplot is now finished!

Remember: Each point in the scatterplot represents an

individual’s data.
Knowledge check: Identify Student 8 in the scatterplot.
Describing Correlations and
Scatterplots
 Scatterplots and correlations are described:
 As positive or negative.
 As weak, moderate, or strong.
 Using the r value.
 Sentence 1: There is a strong, positive correlation (r = 0.88)
between the number of hours studied and GPA.
 Then you want to describe the general relationship
between the two variables:
 Sentence 2: More hours of studying for Psych 209 was
associated with a higher GPA earned in the class at the end of
the quarter.
 NOTE: We cannot say “More studying led to a higher
GPA” – this implies causation, which cannot be
determined using correlational research.
MORE ABOUT EXCEL
 Relative cell reference means that when
you copy or move a formula to a new
location in a worksheet (or even to another
workbook), Excel automatically adjusts the
cell references in the copied formula to be
consistent with the original formula.
MORE ABOUT EXCEL
 Absolute addressing fixes a cell reference so
that regardless of where the formula is copied to,
it will always reference the same original cell. To
use absolute addressing in a formula, all you
need do is to click on the cell reference that you
want to remain fixed, and then press the [F4]
key.
OTHER FUNCTIONS
 SUM() to calculate the total of a set of numbers

 AVERAGE() to calculate the average of a set of

numbers
 MAX() to calculate the maximum value within a set of
numbers
 MIN() to calculate the minimum value within a set of
numbers
 ROUND() to round a set a values to a specified number
of decimal places
 TODAY () to show the current date

 IF() to calculate a result depending on one or more

conditions
 The IF() function checks for a specific
condition. If the condition is met, then one
action is taken; if the condition is not met,
then a different action is taken.
 The structure of an IF() function is:
 =IF (condition, result if true, result if false)
 Nested functions – combination
on one function inside another
function
Example formula:
=IF(AVERAGE(B3:E3) < 50, “FAIL”,
“PASS”)
Navigating within a worksheet

Using the mouse:

􀁹 To move to a different worksheet, just click on the tab below
the worksheet.
Using the keyboard:
􀁹 Use the arrow keys, or [PAGE UP] and [PAGE DOWN], to
move to a different area of the screen.
􀁹 [CTRL] + [HOME} will take you to cell A1.
􀁹Use TAB key on your keyboard to move to the cell beside the
active cell
􀁹 [CTRL] + [PAGE DOWN] will take you to the next worksheet,
or use [CTRL] + [PAGE UP] for the preceding worksheet.

You can jump quickly to a specific cell by pressing [F5] and

typing in the cell address. You
can also type the cell address in the name box above column A,
and press [ENTER].
Excel data types
 Excel allows you to enter different sorts of data into the cells on a
worksheet, such as dates, text, and numbers. If you understand how
Excel treats the different types of data, you’ll be able to structure your
worksheet as efficiently as possible.

1. Numbers lie at the heart of Excel’s functionality. You

should generally avoid mixing text and numbers in a
single cell, since Excel will regard the cell contents as
text, and won’t include the embedded number in
calculations. If you type any spaces within a number, it
will also be regarded as text.
2. Text consist mainly of alphabetic
characters, but can also include numbers,
punctuation marks and spec Text fields are
not included in numeric calculations.

3. Formulas are the most powerful elements

of an Excel spreadsheet. Every formula
starts with an “=” sign, and contains at
least one logical or mathematical operation
(or special function), combined with
numbers and/or cell references.
Formatting data
 Commonly used formatting attributes include:
 Hiding rows and columns
 If your spreadsheet contains sensitive data that you
don’t want to be displayed on the screen or included
in printouts, then you can hide the corresponding
rows or columns.
 The easiest way to hide or unhide a row or column
is to select the row or column heading, right-click to
view the pop-up menu, and then select Hide or
Unhide.
 Alternatively, you can click the Format icon on the
Home ribbon, and select the Hide & Unhide
option.
Keeping row and column headings
in view
 The Freeze Panes feature allows you to specify
particular rows and columns that will always
remain visible as you scroll through the
worksheet.
 How to do?
 Select a cell immediately below the rows that you
want to remain visible, and immediately to the
right of the columns that you want to remain
visible.

 On the View tab, click Freeze Panes, and select

your desired freeze option
Sort
 The sort function does exactly what it says: it
sorts your data records based on the criteria
that you specify. You can sort numbers, text or
dates, in either ascending (default) or
descending order. Blank cells are always
placed last in a sort.
 If you want to sort on two or more criteria
(columns), or if you want to sort a range of
cells, then you need to do a custom sort:
Filter
 The filter function lets you view just the records
that you want to see! The other records in your
data table will still be there, but hidden.