Business Data Analysis

Using Excel
David Whigham
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp
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ISBN 978–0–19–929628–6
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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PREFACE

The aim of this text is to provide a thematic introduction to the use of the Excel
spreadsheet in introductory business data analysis. No prior knowledge of Excel is
required.
The text has been designed to provide both an explanation of the overall nature of
what is to be achieved and also instruction in how it is to be done with Excel.
Each chapter is therefore structured as follows:
 Each problem is defined in general terms—i.e. what is it that we want to do?
 A template data file is prepared. Data files can also be downloaded from the dedicated
online resource centre—these are not simply Excel files but include numerous
embedded comments and tips. The online resource centre can be found at
www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/whigham/. Further details can be found on page xv.
 Each objective is achieved by following the text’s instructions.
 To ensure the correct understanding of each objective by students, an exercise
focusing on each objective should be completed.
 Solutions to the exercises are given to allow comparison and further extension. A
number of solution data files can also be downloaded from the online resource centre.

The learning approach is highly interactive and enables students to develop an

understanding of the power of Excel in allowing both analysis of business data sets and
in the flexible preparation of graphs, charts and tables for inclusion in reports and ess ays.
The material in the text has been extensively live-tested with thousands of students. It
proved to be very popular and student evaluation was extremely positive. This was true
even for students with no prior knowledge of Excel.
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GUIDE TO THE ONLINE RESOURCE CENTRE xv

1 Introduction to Excel 1

1.1 Terminology and navigation 1

1.2 Entering data 5
1.3 Selecting an area of the worksheet 12
1.4 Saving, closing and opening files 13
1.5 Copying data 14
1.6 Creating and using named cells 22
1.7 Inserting or deleting rows or columns 23
1.8 Working with multiple sheets 25
1.9 Avoiding errors and mistakes 27
1.10 Exercises 28
1.11 Solutions to the exercises 32

2 Understanding data 39

2.1 What are data? 39

2.2 Quantitative data 40
2.2.1 Discrete data 41
2.2.2 Continuous data 41
2.3 Qualitative data 42
2.3.1 Categorical data 42
2.3.2 Ordinal data 44
2.4 Exercises 45
2.5 Solutions to the exercises 46

3 Data handling 48

3.1 Sorting data 48

3.2 Filtering data 52
3.3 Parsing data 56
3.4 Exercises 58
3.5 Solutions to the exercises 60

4 Charting data 65

4.1 Principles of charting 65

4.2 XY scatter graphs 66
4.3 Column and bar charts 68
4.4 Pie charts 72
4.5 Some practicalities in preparing graphs 73
xii C O N TE N TS

4.6 Context-sensitive legends and titles 76

4.7 Exercises 78
4.8 Solutions to the exercises 79

5 Elementary modelling (1) 81

5.1 Symbols, expressions and simple models 81

5.2 Creating general algebraic models 83
5.3 Expressions involving logical tests 88
5.4 Linear functions in business 91
5.5 Exercises 93
5.6 Solutions to the exercises 95

6 Elementary modelling (2) 98

6.1 Linear functions involving logical tests 98

6.2 Vertical lookup functions 104
6.3 Combining conditional statements with lookup functions 107
6.4 Exercises 112
6.5 Solutions to the exercises 113

7 Collating and categorizing data 118

7.1 Preliminaries 118

7.2 Frequency distributions 119
7.3 Cumulative frequency distributions 123
7.4 Discrete and continuous data sets 125
7.5 Principles of selecting class intervals 127
7.6 Categorizing data 130
7.7 Exercises 132
7.8 Solutions to the exercises 133

8 Data description—central tendency 138

8.1 Introduction 138

8.2 The arithmetic mean 139
8.3 The median 141
8.4 The mode 141
8.5 Comparison between the mean, the median and the mode 142
8.6 Weighted averages 143
8.7 Exercises 145
8.8 Solutions to the Exercises 146