Bringing Change by Measuring Impact

Health Information Management and Applied Epidemiology for Health Care Workers in South Africa

sa-data

Module 8

Excel Basics for Summaries of Categorical and Numeric Data

Learning Objectives

At the end of Module 8, you will be able to:

  • Explain what Excel is, and why it is useful.
  • Demonstrate how to enter, save, delete, copy, and paste in an Excel spreadsheet.
  • Demonstrate how to sort and filter data in an Excel spreadsheet.
  • Use Excel to apply basic maths functions to quantitative data (sum, mean, etc.)
  • Use Excel to prepare one- and two-way frequency tables.
  • Use Excel to prepare bar graphs and pie charts for categorical data.
  • Use Excel to prepare line graphs and scatter plots for numerical data.
  • Use Excel to categorise numerical variables and create proportions.

Much of what we have learned so far regarding data quality and applied epidemiology is most easily captured and presented by using Excel software. In this, we will learn how to use Excel to work with data, from the basic functions of entering, saving, and deleting, to sorting and filtering. We will then learn how to apply basic maths functions, such as sum and mean, to the data. This will lead us into being able to display data in one- and two-way frequency tables, and even creating and preparing our own bar charts, pie charts, and more!

This module is print-based only.

Pre-test (10 minutes)

Workbook (10 minutes)

Answer Guide (10 minutes)

Post-test (10 minutes)