Introduction to MS Excel for Data Analytics

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Introduction

:
**Microsoft Excel is one of the most used software applications of all time.
You can use Excel to enter all sorts of data and perform financial, mathematical, or statistical calculations.

**Data Analysis Process:
This is the science of analyzing a particular set of data to be used by an organization in making informed decisions.

There are various types of Data Analytics.
a) Descriptive Data - looks at historical data to summarize what already happened (Past Data - establish trends and patterns)
b) Diagnostic Data - this dwells in finding reasons behind outcomes. (causes and relationship - identify factors affecting results)
c) Predictive Analytics - uses existing data to forecast future outcomes (future possibilities -make informed decisions)
d) Prescriptive Analytics - recommends actions based on data insights (decision making - suggests best actions)

*Data analysis involves the following processes;
*
Data Collection
Data Processing
Data Ceaning
Data Analysis
Data Communication

*Tools used for Data Analysis
*Excel
Power BI
SQL
Python

***Data Analysis in Excel:*
_*a) Sort *-_ you can sort your Excel data by one or multiple columns. You can sort in either ascending or descending order.
Sort By One Column:
To sort by one column in Excel, execute the following steps;
**Click any cell in the column you want to sort

Fig. 1 Sorting by One Column

To sort in ascending order, on the Data tab, in the sort & filter group, click AZ

Fig. 2 Sorting by Ascending Order

b) Filter - Filter your Excel data to display records that meet a certain criteria.

Click any single cell inside a data set
On the data tab, in the sort & filter group, click filter

Fig. 3 Filter

c) Conditional Formatting - Use Conditional formatting in Excel to automatically highlight cells based on their content. Apply a rule or use a formula to determine which cells to format

_Highlight Cells Rules _

Fig. 4 Conditional Formatting

d) Pivot Tables - Pivot Tables are one of Excel's most powerful features. A pivot table allows you to extract the significance from a large, detailed data set.

Insert a Pivot Table - to insert a pivot table
Click on any single cell inside the data set
On the data set, in the tables group, click Pivot Table

Fig. 5 Pivot Tables