Download Basic descriptive statistics

Spreadsheet Skills in Finance
Descriptive statistics
Prepared by Pamela Peterson Drake
Statistical functions useful for descriptive statistics
FUNCTION
AVERAGE(data)
AVERAGEA(data)
AVERAGEIF(data,criteria)
AVERAGEIFS(data,range 1,criteria1, range 2, criteria 2, …)
COUNT(data)
COUNTA(data)
COUNTIF(data,criteria)
COUNTIFS(data,range 1,criteria1, range 2, criteria 2, …)
GEOMEAN(data)
HARMEAN(data)
KURT(data)
MAX(data)
MAXA(data)
MEDIAN(data)
MIN(data)
MINA(data)
MODE(data)
RANK(number,array,order)
SKEW(data)
STDEV(data)
STDEVA(data)
VAR(data)
PURPOSE
Calculate the sample mean. The use of IF and IFS with the average allow you to average
based on a criterion or a set of criteria.
Calculate the number of observations. The use of IF and IFS with the average allow you
to average based on a criterion or a set of criteria.
Calculate the geometric mean for a set of observations.
Note, when performing this on returns, be sure to add 1.0 to each return and then
subtract 1.0 from the result of HARMEAN.
Calculate the harmonic mean for a set of observations.
Note, when performing this on returns, be sure to add 1.0 to each return and then
subtract 1.0 from the result of HARMEAN.
Calculate the sample excess kurtosis of a set of observations
Identify the maximum value within a set of observations.
Calculate the median for a set of observations.
Identify the minimum for a set of observations.
Identify the mode for a set of observations.
Rank a specified number within a specified array. Order refers to descending (0) and
ascending (1).
Calculate the sample skewness of a set of observations
Calculate the sample standard deviation of a set of observations.
Calculate the sample variance for a set of observations.
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Notes:
In these functions, “data” can be a list of data, separated by commas, or a reference to cells (e.g., A3:A20).
The IF and IFS allow you to calculate the statistic for those observations that meet a specific criteria.
The “A” version of the functions (e.g. MAXA of MAX) performs the function on numeric and non-numeric data
Data analysis for descriptive statistics
Excel has applications in Data Analysis that allow you to get a set of statistics on data in one set of commands:
Data > Data Analysis > Descriptive Statistics
You then have the option to put the statistics on another worksheet or on the same worksheet as the data. You can also specify what you
want, but “Summary” will provide the basic descriptive statistics.
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