MAT308 EXCEL Lab – Descriptive Statistics

MAT308 EXCEL Lab – Descriptive Statistics

The most important part of statistics is accurately and effectively communicating the results of a study. For this lab, you will be conducting a statistical study of your choosing and reporting out your results.

Lab Procedure:

• Think of a topic or question that you’re interested in exploring further that can be studied through data.
  • It is recommended, but not required, that you pick a topic in you field of study.
• Find a source for your data (or use one of the suggested data source sites listed below).
  • The data must be quantitative and ratio-level (See Chapter 1).
  • You will need between 30 – 60 data values.
  • You will need to provide a direct link to the source of the data.
• Using Excel, perform the following statistical analyses:
  • Calculate the relevant and necessary descriptive statistics (See Chapter 2)
  • Use Excel to generate a frequency histogram (See Chapter 2)
    • It should be accurate, with proper number of classes
    • All axes should be properly labeled
    • See textbook and Canvas resources for examples of properly formatted histograms
  • Write a report that is suitable to be published in a student newspaper or online news site.
    • Report should be 2 – 4 paragraphs in length
      Excel Example
      EXCEL Lab Report Example

The audience for your article should be the general public. This is an exercise in creating authentic and professional work,

• • Not just outlining steps you did for an assignment. Write this as it was assigned to you by a supervisor at a new job, not an instructor in a stat class.
  • As shown in the sample report, yours should include an introduction/background, statistical analysis (both in words and with graphics), and conclusion based on the analysis.
  • Your written report should include both a frequency distribution table and the frequency histogram that you created using your data in Excel. (See sample report)
    • These figures should be titled, formatted, and appropriately sized (see sample report)
  • Please review the Excel Lab Scoring rubric for additional expectations
    MAT308 Excel Lab Scoring Rubric
  • To submit, you will upload two files to the Canvas assignment link.
    • The Excel file needs to be uploaded as an actual Excel file (.xls or .xlsx, NOT a PDF)
    • The written report should be submitted as a .PDF file. For help converting a word document to a PDF, use Google.

Excel Tutorial Videos:

• Excel Tutorial: Excel Basics(Links to an external site.)
• Excel Tutorial: Histograms(Links to an external site.)
• Excel Tutorial: Pie Charts(Links to an external site.)
• Excel Tutorial: Frequency Histogram(Links to an external site.)
• Excel Tutorial: Measures of Central Tendency(Links to an external site.)
• Excel Tutorial: Standard Deviation(Links to an external site.)

Links to Sample Data Sites (Not required to choose one of these):

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(Links to an external site.)
• World Health Organization(Links to an external site.)
• Kaggle(Links to an external site.)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics(Links to an external site.)
• Bureau of Economic Analysis(Links to an external site.)
• S. Census Bureau(Links to an external site.)
• S. Small Business Data(Links to an external site.)
• Fed Reserve Economic Data(Links to an external site.)
• The New York Times