Excel #3
Learning Objectives:
1. Become familiar with importing any type of data into Excel
2. Gain more expertise in sorting, manipulating & analyzing data (IF, COUNT, COUNTA, AND, OR, Data Filter, Pivots)
3. Continue to develop self-learning capabilities
Past and current MIS 302F students were surveyed early in the semester and responses (without names) are available in
a text file called "survey_results.txt." You will import this file into Excel and perform a series of tasks (listed below).
The file survey_results.txt is tab delimited (i.e., columns are separated by tab). There are 36w columns. Below is a table
with the type of information contained in each column. These field names are metadata.
Column #
Name
Student Info
1
StudentID
2
Section
3
School/College
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Classes Taken
Accounting
Management
Marketing
Int’l Business
Finance
LEB
Entrepreneurship
Column #
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Name
Technology Info
TechComfort
Programming
Database
Facebook
Twitter
Computer
Browser
CellPhone
Blogs
ProductReviews
TextMessaging
eBookReader
Textbook
CommunicationFriends
CommunicationProfessionals
Column #
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Name
Excel Info
LogicalOperators
GroupOperators
DataSorting
Filters
TableFunction
Frequency
RenamingCells
CopyFormula
AnchoringCells
MIS 301 Perception Info
35
CourseObjectives
36
CourseReaction
Column 11 (TechComfort) is on a scale of “1” to “5.” See the chart below for associated meanings
How comfortable are you with technology?
Very comfortable
5
Somewhat comfortable
4
Neutral
3
Somewhat uncomfortable
2
Very uncomfortable
1
What to Submit
You will submit your work on the next page of this course Excel Assignment #3 - Peer Review Submission. In this Excel
spreadsheet you will transform the raw data from the survey data text file into a more usable format.
Tip for using a quick calculation feature of Excel: If you hover over a set of cells, Excel will tell you the SUM, COUNT,
AVERAGE, MIN, or MAX of these cells. You can click on this portion of the screen at the bottom to change type of
calculation it does. (See picture below as an example only. Data could be different.)
1
To add "Green/Yellow/Red" conditional formatting, select the cells you’re applying conditional formatting to, click
"Conditional Format" button, then click "Colors Scales," and finally click "Green/Yellow/Red." NOTE: This may look
different on your machine since this screenshot was taken on my Mac that has Office 2011. This function exists for PC
users too, so even if your screen looks a little different, just Google it or play around to figure out how to apply it. (Don’t
focus on exact amounts in picture below since this is an example.)
NOTE: Screenshot is just an example…data will look slightly different.
Task 1: Import the Tab-delimited Data and Save as an Excel Workbook
• Download the text file survey_results.txt and save it on your computer or flash drive. Right click on the file and save as
"survey_results.txt." If you double click on this file it’s likely to open in a text editor and look messy, so we’ll
import it into Excel so we can manipulate and analyze the data better.
• Open Excel and go to "Data" > "From Text" > and select Text Files from the "Files of Type" box.
• Browse to the survey_results.txt file that you saved. Click "Import" to open the "Text Import Wizard." NOTE: On a
Mac, you may need to click a "Get Data" button. Either way, select file and click button and the wizard should
open.
2
• Click "Next" and "Finish" until you are back in the normal Excel screen. Below is a screenshot of what it should
generally look like. NOTE: Screenshot is just an example…data may look slightly different.

Rename this worksheet (tab) "SurveyData"
NOTE: BE SURE TO COMPLETE THAT LAST STEP. To reiterate: When you import the file survey_results.txt into Excel,
be sure to name the new worksheet tab “SurveyData.”
Note: From here on, you have to make sure all the worksheets, columns, etc. are named exactly as requested.
 Save this file as an Excel file. To do this, select Microsoft Office Excel Workbook (.xlsx) under Save as Type. Your
workbook should be named ExcelAssignment3_YourLastName.xlsx.
Task 2:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Copy the Answer Sheet Worksheet into the Survey Data Worksheet
Download the AnswerSheet.xlsx file from this page. Again…right click and save as.
WITHOUT CLOSING YOUR SURVEY DATA SPREADSHEET, open the AnswerSheet.xlsx file in Excel.
In the bottom left hand corner of the window, you will see the tab for the worksheet (AnswerSheet). Right-click
on the tab, and select “Move or Copy.”
In the “To Book” drop-down list, select your survey data spreadsheet.
Select “(move to end)” from the Before Sheet box
Check the “Create a copy” checkbox and click OK
Close the AnswerSheet.xlsx file and return to the survey data spreadsheet
Task 3: Insert a new column for the Number of Classes on the Survey Data Worksheet
***IMPORTANT: MyITLab grading is case-sensitive, so for the survey analysis questions in the “AnswerSheet” tab you
must type in your answers the way we instruct you too. For example, if you answer “no” instead of “No” MyITLab will
dock points***
• Insert a column to the right of the Entrepreneurship column called "NumClasses." To add a column, move your cursor
to the row with column names (A, B, C, …). You will see cursor has down arrow. Highlight a column then go to
the "Home" tab > Cells Section > Insert > Insert Sheet Column. A column is always inserted to the left of the
highlighted column. If you make a mistake, just click on the Undo button (an arrow pointing to the left) on the
Quick Access Toolbar (above the Ribbon).
3
• Now, count the number of classes taken by each student. You need to count the number of "Yeses" in columns D thru
J (Accounting, Management, Marketing, International Business, Finance, LEB, Entrepreneurship)
• Try using COUNT function first. Will this work? Explain. Use Microsoft Excel Help and search for COUNT if you need to
and read the help guide to understand why. There is a specific function you’ve probably used that will count
cells with characters. Which one is it?
√ In the "Task 3a Answer" box on the Answer Sheet tab, write 1 sentence explanation of what happened when you used
COUNT operator and why. There is no special formatting required for this question.
When you are answering this question and all the following questions, delete the original questions and answer inside
the bolded cells. If you answer outside of the textbox, you will NOT be given any credit.
√ In the "Task 3b Answer" box on the Answer Sheet tab, write the name of the function (IN ALL CAPS) that you should
use to count cells that contain characters (i.e. SUM, IF, VLOOKUP, MATCH, CHOOSE). (No credit will be given if you use
the COUNTIF function. There’s something better and more dynamic that doesn’t care about the specific value like the
COUNTIF, so figure out function to count if any letters or text are in a box).
Task 4: Insert a new column for Total Excel Skills
Insert a column next to the right of the AnchoringCells column. This new column should be called "ExcelSkills." There are
nine different skills for Excel starting with "LogicalOperators" column and ending with "AnchoringCells." Count the
number of skills each student has. Reference Task 3 to understand how to do this.
Task 5: Insert a new column for Tech Comfort
Insert a column to the right of the "TechComfort" column. This new column should be called "Comfort." If a student has
a score of 4 or more in the "TechComfort" column, the "Comfort" column should say "YES." Otherwise, the column
should say "NO." Use an IF statement to return "YES" if TechComfort is greater than or equal to 4 other return "NO."
Reference the article at the following link for help with IF statements: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/iffunction-HP010342586.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HP010342666
(Links to an external site.)
Task 6: Insert a new column for Social Networking
Add another column to the right of “Twitter.” Name this new column “SocialNetworking.” Here you want to evaluate
the student’s use of major social networking (SN) sites. Create a formula to compute activity and copy it to all the cells
in the column. Use the following rules to determine a student’s social networking activity:
o
o
o
If a student has a Facebook account AND a Twitter account, his SN activity is “1-HIGH”
If a student has a Facebook account OR a Twitter account, her SN activity is “2-MEDIUM”
If neither of the above statements is true, the student’s SN activity is “3-LOW”
You will need nested IF statements, the AND function and the OR function. Here are some examples of how to use the
AND and OR functions.
The AND function returns the value of TRUE when ALL logical tests are true.
The OR function returns the value of TRUE when ANY of the logical tests are true.
=AND(1=1,1=2)  Value will be FALSE
=OR(1=1, 1=2)  Value will be TRUE
Suppose Cell A1= “Yes” and Cell B1= “No”
=AND(A1= “Yes”, B1 = “Yes”)  Value will be FALSE
=OR(A1= “Yes”, B1= “Yes”)  Value will be TRUE
Also, here is an example of a statement to evaluate how well informed a business student is:
4
1
2
3
4
5
A
Reads NYT
Yes
Yes
No
No
B
Reads WSJ
Yes
No
Yes
No
C
Informed
Strong
Moderate
Moderate
Weak
Formula in C5 is as follows:
=IF(AND(A5="Yes",B5="Yes"),"Strong",IF(OR(A5="Yes",B5="Yes"),"Moderate","Weak"))
Task 7: Use Filters
Click once on any cell in Row 2 and then apply a filter. Do this by clicking the Data tab and then Filter, or you should be
able to click the filter button, which is usually visible on very top. This is the button that looks like a funnel with an
equals sign next to it. Play around and find different ways to filter the data to see different ways to analyze data.
When you’re done playing around, clear any filters you created while you were experimenting by clicking on "Clear" in
the "Sort & Filter" area of the Data tab or in the data menu. Now complete the following and use any method you like to
get counts unless it is specified in the instructions:
a.
Select only those who have taken the finance class and have programming experience.
• In the "Task 7a Count" box on the AnswerSheet tab, record the number of students who have taken the finance class
AND have programming experience. Hint: Use the "Finance" column and "Programming" column. Note: Just
enter in the number of students, nothing more nothing less. For example, “45” not “45 students.”
b. How many students have taken five or more Foundation classes?
• Clear filters from Task 7a before move forward with Task 7b
• In the "Task 7b Count" box on the AnswerSheet tab, record the number of students who have taken at least five
courses. Note: Just enter in the number of students, nothing more nothing less. For example, “45” not “45
students.”
• Look at the information about Excel Skills for these students. On average, do these students have better Excel skills?
In "Task 7b1" box on the AnswerSheet tab, what is the average of these students who took at least five courses?
What is the average of the whole class? (The answer to this second question goes to "Task7b2." One tip would
be to use the quick calc feature mentioned at the bottom of these instructions to get an average for Excel Skills,
then compare this to the average Excel Skills or all students. Round your answer to three decimal places. Do not
enter anything other than a number for the two questions stated above. By comparing these two numbers,
answer the original question above with either "Yes" or "No" in "Task 7b3." Do not enter “NO”, “no”, etc.
MyITLab is case-sensitive.
c. Clear filters and answer this question. Do students who have had Database experience tend to have better Excel
skills than those that have no database experience? (Hint: Filter on the "Database" column to look at these two
groups)
• Justify your answer based on your observation. Write the average excel skill of those who have database experience
in "Task 7c1." In "Task 7c2," write the average excel skill of those with no database experience. Round your
answer to two decimal places. Again, enter in just the number.
• By comparing these two numbers, finally answer the original question above by either "Yes" or "No" in "Task 7c3." Do
not enter “NO”, “no”, etc.
d. Which is a more popular browser among students: Safari or Firefox? This should be easy based on filtering data
by the Browser column and using the quick calculation feature that is detailed on page 8 below.
• In the "Task 7d Popular Browser" box on the AnswerSheet tab, record which is the more popular browser. Do not
enter “SAFARI”, “firefox”, etc. Capitalize the first letter, every other letter is lowercase.
• In the "Task 7e Count" box on the AnswerSheet tab, record the number of students who use this browser.
5
What is the correlation between owning an iPhone and owning an Apple computer? Are you more likely to own an
iPhone if you also own an Apple computer?
• In the "Task 7f1" box on the AnswerSheet tab, write how many students own an apple computer. Of these students,
how many own an iPhone? Type in just the numbers. (Answer in "Task 7f2.")
• How many iPhone owners are there in total? (in "Task 7f3"). Is there a clear correlation between owning an Apple
Computer and an iPhone? (Answer in "Task 7f4" with either "Yes" or "No.")
f.
Save your workbook. DO NOT TURN OFF THE FILTER. THE GRADERS WILL CHECK TO SEE IF IT IS TURNED ON.
(The little arrows should be at the top of every header row.) It’s okay if you don’t clear them though.
Task 8: Use a Pivot Table
One of the most important features you can learn in Excel is PivotTable and PivotCharts. (Insert > PivotTable and
PivotCharts). Using this command, you can easily perform advanced data analysis. The steps for creating a pivot table
are below.






Highlight the entire data area on the Survey Data worksheet, including the header rows. A quick way to do this is
by clicking once on cell A1 and then hitting Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow and then Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow. For Mac,
use Command instead of Ctrl.
Start the "Create Pivot Table" wizard by selecting Insert Tab > Pivot Table.
The wizard will prompt you for data, so make sure the entire data (A1:AN1095) area including the headers is
selected.
Select the "New Worksheet" option in the "Choose where you want the Pivot Table..." area
Click "OK. "You will see a template to organize data. (Note: You can also select data and click PivotTable button,
which is easier.)
Rename the newly created worksheet to "SPT1."
Now use the pivot table you just created to find the number of students in each combination of social networking
activity and College.
• Make "SocialNetworking" field the Column Label. If you don’t remember how to do this, refer to previous homework
or Google it.
• Make "School_College" field the Row Label.
• You can use Student ID as the value. Don’t be shocked if you get weird numbers. Sometimes Excel sees a number and
6
assumes you want to SUM them. For Student ID, we don’t want to sum but count. Click on the StudentID field in
the "Values" box and select value "Value Field Settings." This will allow you to change the option to summarize
by Count. This counts the number of students rather than summing their IDs.
• Since we don't have a large mass of data on Pharmacy, Geosciences, Architecture, and Social Work, we will filter these
out. That doesn’t mean they’re not important, but in order to do analysis by College, we need a large enough
sample size (i.e., more than just a couple). Select the filter arrow by Row Labels on pivot table and remove these
four schools from pivot table. This should leave you with seven remain schools
NOTE: If your Pivot Table Field List disappears, click inside the Pivot Table and it will reappear. Also if you’re using
a Mac, instructions and methods to create pivots may be slightly different but you should be able to switch
between Windows or Mac since they both are very similar.
In the "Task 8a Answer" box on the AnswerSheet tab, note what school/college has the highest number of students
ranked as "1-High." Make sure to write the full name of the college (i.e., if education majors had the highest number
write "College of Education," without the quotes but with same capitalization, spacing, etc.). More examples: School of
Undergraduate Studies, Cockrell School of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts.
Note: Just because a school or college has a large number of people that are ranked as "1-High," doesn’t mean that
school/college is more active on social media. To do that, we need to look at the % of people in each school marked as
"1-High."
• Click again on StudentID field in "Values" box and navigate back to the Field Settings, and click on "Show Value As"
tab. Select to show this field as a "% of Row Total." This will break out % of people that are High, Medium, or
Low in each college/school. Click OK.
• In the "Task 8b Answer" box on the AnswerSheet tab, note what school/college has the highest percentage of
students ranked as "1-High." Make sure to write the full name of the college.
• In the "Task 8c Answer" box on the AnswerSheet tab, manually type the % of students in the college/school from 8b
that is considered most active on social media (i.e. ranked as "1-High"). Format your answer as a decimal, i.e.
0.56 if the answer is 56%.
Using another worksheet and a new pivot table (use similar steps as above), find the percentage of students (i.e.,
count the StudentID but shown as a % of grand total this time) for each combination of cell phone type (columns) and
the type of computer they own (rows). Follow all the steps under Task 8 up to the point where you rename the
worksheet. In this case, rename the worksheet as "SPT2" and save your workbook.
Highlight all the non-total percentages (all percentages that are not in "Grand Total" row or column), and then apply a
preset "Green/Yellow/Red" conditional format. See tip at the bottom on doing this.
• Take a minute and notice the % of people who own an Apple computer and an Android phone. Compare that to the %
of people who own a PC and an Android phone. According to this pivot, a person who owns an Android phone is
2.09 times more likely to own a PC than to own an Apple computer. This we get from just comparing Android/PC
users to Android/Mac users. Look at the same comparison with iPhone users. You’ve already done a bit of this
interpretation before using filters. Notice how detailed a pivot with conditional formatting is compared to
simple filters.
• Name the worksheet you created for this pivot table "SPT2." Save your workbook.
• In the Task 8d Explanation box on the Answer Sheet tab, write how many more times likely it would be for an iPhone
owner to own an Apple computer versus owning a PC. (Type in just the number of times more likely and round
your answer to two decimal points i.e. “12.5” if the answer is 12.5 times more likely).
7