Statistical Analysis with Excel for Dummies

I had statistics in college (15+ years ago) but don't remember much. I don't have any statistical software at work, but need to do some deeper analysis. I bought this book and am about 1/2 way through. It is very easy to understand and is loaded with examples. I never realized I could do so much with Excel. Although this book was written for Excel 2003, I'm using 2007 and can still follow along without any issues. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone needing to do some basic statistical analysis!

This is an excellent resource for those who need to do statistical analysis, but who don't want to (or can't afford) to hire it professionally done. Excel has many sophisticated statistical analysis tools built in. The author explains how to access these capabilities, how to decide which of them to use, and how to use them correctly. In addition, there is a great deal of information on designing graphs to display the results of the analysis. In addition, the author introduces each statistical function by explaining what the function does, how it does it, and why one might consider using it. The examples are brief, but that's because the book isn't intended to be a comprehensive introduction to statistics. (One excellent book for that is "Statistics for Dummies," by Deborah Rumsey.) As is the case with most of the "for Dummies" books, this one divides the information into short, easily digestible bites. The writing style is somewhat breezy, but that never interferes with the utility of the book. This is an excellent, short reference that is worth every penny. I'm very happy I bought it, and I'd do it again.

very helpful for someone who has little previous knowledge of the subject. I needed a simple lead in and this provided.

This book is excellent for seasoned Excel users and people who were taught (but didn't learn) statistics in your average graduate school program. I have never seen statistical concepts so briefly and at the same time well explained. Actually applying the concepts adds another level of learning. I highly recommend this book.

Excel is of course first and foremost a spreadsheet. They were designed to allow you to play what if senarios. You can change this part of the budget to see what the effect is over there. But beyond the spread sheet functionality Excel has numerous functions and capabilities to do all kinds of analysis capabilities. This book is on using these functions to perform a whole range of statistical functions. Not only does this book cover the functions themselves, but gives the background and description of what this particular kind of function is doing. Both numerical analysis and charting functions are included and in detail. Don't skip the part in this book called the Part of Tens. This section in the For Dummies books often has some interesting points, but here the summation of statistical limitations is just great.