1 Excel spreadsheets: a tool for organising and starting to process data

Before making any business decision, managers need to see a clear picture of their data, which provides them with all the relevant information. Therefore, it is good practice to organise and present data in a way that makes it useful for decision making and problem solving. Microsoft Excel is the most attractive and useful tool for data analysis. Researchers and analysts alike use this tool for various applications in the real world, such as in business, medicine, academia, logistics, operations, transportation, tax and auditing, marketing, accounting and finance. Moreover, it is flexible enough to be used with all types of data, irrespective of whether the data is qualitative or quantitative.

In this section, you will make extensive use of Excel spreadsheets. Therefore, your task is to learn and familiarise yourself with the basics of using Excel. This will enhance your analytical skills as well as your employability skills.

This section briefly explains the various features and functions of Excel that are used by researchers and data analysts to explore, organise and analyse data.