How Excel Is Used In Real-World Data Analysis

#datascience #resources #career #analytics

INTRODUCTION

Ms Excel

Microsoft Excel is a powerful computer software tool that is used to store, organize and analyze data. Excel is a real world data interactive platform made up of worksheets containing rows and columns in which data entries are made ,formatted and analyzed according to a specific criteria where they can even be presented in visually appealing forms by use of charts and graphs so that they can meet the user's demands.

Real world applications of Microsoft excel

Microsoft excel is widely used in most data related disciplines, some of the most reputable career paths and fields mainly use excel for real time data processing and data predictions, some of the tasks excel is used for include:

Data cleaning and preparation :Excel is used in removing duplicates present in data sets ,Text formatting and splitting columns.
Exploratory data analysis:Tools such as pivot tables are used to explore data and discover hidden patterns, sorting and filtering features can also be used to pin point specific data entries.
Advanced calculations and logical testing :Excel can be used to perform complex logic operations such as data merging and logical analysis along side statistical modelling to understand data distribution

Prominent Features and Formulae

During my introductory phase of familiarizing with excel i came across some core functions and formulae used in data operations .the functions and formulae used in data operation are as listed below :
Math & Trigonometry functions
They calculate basic arithmetic values and powers

SUM :Adds all numbers in a range.
SQRT :Calculates the positive square root of a number.
POWER :Raises a base number to a specified exponent.
Statistical Functions
They are used to analyze a data set to find central tendencies and extreme values.
AVERAGE :Calculates arithmetic mean of a range.
MEDIAN :Identifies the middle number in a sorted list.
MODE :Finds the most frequently occurring number in a data
MAX :Returns the largest value in a set.
MIN :Returns the smallest value in a set.
COUNT :Counts cell containing numbers in a range.
Conditional Statistical Functions
They count or add cells only if they meet a specific criteria
SUMIF :Adds cells that meet one specific condition
COUNTIF :Counts cells that meet one specific condition
COUNTIFS: Counts cells that meet multiple specified conditions
SUMIFS :Adds cells that meet specified multiple conditions
Personal point of view
Microsoft excel is a highly recommendable tool for both data scientists and data analysts as it can both be used to find hidden data insights as well as reviewing and deriving information from past data trends.