Starting with Excel

Consultants in the SCC work with a variety of software packages, but if you don't have access to a statistical package you can enter your data on an Excel spreadsheet. Even if you have access to a statistical package, it can be useful to enter the data in Excel first.

You may have your data set up in Excel in a way you find easy to use and understand. This doesn't always suit the requirements of a statistical analysis, so you may need to set up a separate Excel file to give to the consultant.

Here a few tips about entering your data in Excel for a consultant:

• If possible, enter all the information on a single worksheet.
• Each row should correspond to a single unit on which you have made observations. Of course, that sounds technical – the unit of observation might be a person, a plant, a tooth or a laboratory animal.
• Each column should contain the results for one of the variables you have measured. The top cell in each column should contain the name of the variable.
• Keep the variable name in a single cell, and preferably keep it short. If the variable name is long and you don't want to make the column wider, you can make the label easier to read in the following way. Click on the cell, then use Format > Cell > Alignment and tick the Wrap text box. Finally increase the row height so you can see the whole label.
• Blank rows and columns in the worksheet (say between the heading and the data) are not necessary.
• Be consistent when you are entering information. If you choose to record information about sex, for example, by entering either an "M" or an "F", you need to be consistent for every case. You should not, for example, use lower case or have any blank spaces around the letters. If you know how to use "Pivot Tables" in Excel, this can be a useful way to identify inconsistent entries.
• If information is missing, simply leave the Excel cell blank.
• If you have information that can identify your participants, such as patient names, remove them from the worksheet before you see a consultant.
• Check your data entry carefully. Errors arising from data entry might be discovered during the analysis but can waste time. If you are unlucky, they won't be discovered. The best way to ensure there are no mistakes in your data is by entering the data twice, and making sure they are identical. (Of course you don't analyse the double-entered data). Alternatively you can print the data out and check it against the original source.
• Make sure you have dealt with any references in the data that were placed there for checking purposes. "21.4?? ask Brian" is not a good value for a statistical software package to encounter, when it was expecting a numerical value.
• Find out how to use the "Freeze panes" option under the Windows menu in Excel. This allows you to keep the first row and the first column (or some other set of rows and columns) of the spreadsheet visible while you scroll down or to the right. This can be helpful if you have a lot of data to enter.
• If you have already done some analysis or produced some graphs in Excel, remove them from the spreadsheet you give to a consultant. The data file you give to a consultant should include the data and variable names only. (Of course, bring the other information along as well!)
• Excel spreadsheets can be read into a variety of different statistical packages. A consultant can help you with this.
• You can bring an Excel spreadsheet along on a CD or memory stick or you can email it to a consultant.