UNIT-II

Using Excel to Analyze Data – Part 2, Making Actionable Recommendations,

Drawing Meaningful Insights, Reporting Social Media Analytics, Examining
Case Studies, Brand Lift and Conversion Studies.

Using Excel to Analyze Data

Data Entry & Cleaning: Importing data, handling missing values, data validation.

Data Entry

 Manual Data Entry: Typing data into a spreadsheet or database manually,

often from paper or another format. This is time-consuming and prone to
human error.
o Best Practices:
 Use drop-down menus to standardize input (data validation).
 Employ consistent naming conventions.
 Avoid entering sensitive or duplicate data manually to prevent
errors.
 Automated Data Entry: Using software or scripts to extract data from other
sources like databases, APIs, or web scraping.
o Tools: Excel's Power Query, R, Python (Pandas), and VBA can
automate data entry processes.
 Data Import from Other Sources:
o Excel: Data can be imported from various sources like CSV, text
files, and databases. Use Data > Get Data in Excel to access data
from external sources.
 o APIs & Web Scraping: Use tools like Python (requests,
BeautifulSoup) to scrape data from websites or APIs to input into
Excel.

Data Cleaning

Data cleaning is an essential step in data analysis that prepares raw data for
meaningful insights. It involves identifying and correcting errors, handling
inconsistencies, and making data uniform and accurate.

Handling Missing Data:

o Deletion: Removing rows or columns with missing values (only when

they don't have much impact).
o Imputation: Filling in missing values using methods such as mean,
median, or mode imputation, or more advanced techniques like
regression or interpolation.
o Excel Tools: Use the Go To Special > Blanks to identify empty cells,
or use IFERROR to handle missing data in formulas.

Identifying Duplicates:

o Excel Tools: Use the Remove Duplicates feature in Excel to identify

and delete duplicate rows based on specific columns.
o Manual Checking: Sort data to visually inspect duplicates or use
conditional formatting to highlight duplicates.

Standardizing Data Format:

 o Date Formats: Ensure that dates are in a consistent format (e.g.,
MM/DD/YYYY). In Excel, use TEXT() to convert date formats.
o Currency/Decimal: Standardize numerical formats, especially when
working with currency or percentages. Use the Format Cells dialog
to define number formats.
o Text Consistency: Standardize capitalization, spelling, and
abbreviations. Use UPPER(), LOWER(), PROPER(), and TRIM()
functions in Excel for text manipulation.

Correcting Errors:

o Typographical Errors: Spelling mistakes or incorrect data entry.

You can use Excel's Find & Replace function to fix recurring typos
or use spell-check tools.
o Logical Errors: These may arise when values don't make sense (e.g.,
negative values for age). Identifying and correcting these through
filtering or conditional formatting helps ensure consistency.

Basic Functions & Formulas: SUM, AVERAGE, VLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH,

IF statements.

SUM

 Purpose: Adds up a range of numbers.

 Syntax: =SUM(number1, [number2], ...)
 Example: =SUM(A1:A10) will add all values from cell A1 to A10.
AVERAGE

 Purpose: Calculates the average (mean) of a group of numbers.

 Syntax: =AVERAGE(number1, [number2], ...)
 Example: =AVERAGE(B1:B10) will return the average of values in B1 to
B10.

COUNT

 Purpose: Counts the number of cells that contain numbers in a range.

 Syntax: =COUNT(value1, [value2], ...)
 Example: =COUNT(C1:C10) will count how many cells in the range C1 to
C10 contain numbers.

IF

 Purpose: Checks if a condition is true or false, and returns one value if true
and another if false.
 Syntax: =IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false)
 Example: =IF(D1 > 50, "Pass", "Fail") will return "Pass" if the value in D1
is greater than 50, and "Fail" if it’s not.

VLOOKUP

 Purpose: Searches for a value in the first column of a table and returns a
value in the same row from another column.
 Syntax: =VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num,
[range_lookup])
  Example: =VLOOKUP(A2, B1:D10, 3, FALSE) will search for the value in
A2 in the first column of B1:D10, and return the value from the third column
of the matching row.

HLOOKUP

 Purpose: Similar to VLOOKUP, but searches horizontally (across the top

row) instead of vertically.
 Syntax: =HLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, row_index_num,
[range_lookup])
 Example: =HLOOKUP("January", A1:Z10, 2, FALSE) will search for
"January" in the first row and return the value from the second row of the
matching column.

INDEX

 Purpose: Returns the value of a cell within a specific row and column of a
given range.
 Syntax: =INDEX(array, row_num, [column_num])
 Example: =INDEX(A1:C10, 3, 2) will return the value in the 3rd row and
2nd column of the range A1:C10.

MATCH

 Purpose: Searches for a value in a range and returns its relative position.
 Syntax: =MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])
 Example: =MATCH("John", A1:A10, 0) will find "John" in the range
A1:A10 and return the position of the match.
CONCATENATE (or CONCAT)

 Purpose: Joins two or more text strings into one.

 Syntax: =CONCATENATE(text1, text2, ...) or =CONCAT(text1, text2, ...)
(newer versions of Excel use CONCAT)
 Example: =CONCATENATE(A1, " ", B1) will combine the values in cells
A1 and B1 with a space between them.

TRIM

 Purpose: Removes leading, trailing, and double spaces from text.

 Syntax: =TRIM(text)
 Example: =TRIM(A1) will remove any unnecessary spaces from the text in
cell A1.

ROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN

 Purpose: Rounds a number to a specified number of digits.

 Syntax:
o =ROUND(number, num_digits)
o =ROUNDUP(number, num_digits)
o =ROUNDDOWN(number, num_digits)
 Example: =ROUND(A1, 2) will round the value in A1 to 2 decimal places.

SUMIF, COUNTIF, AVERAGEIF

 Purpose: Performs conditional sums, counts, or averages.

 Syntax:
o =SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range])
o =COUNTIF(range, criteria)
 o =AVERAGEIF(range, criteria, [average_range])
 Example:
o =SUMIF(A1:A10, ">50") will sum all numbers in A1:A10 that are
greater than 50.
o =COUNTIF(A1:A10, "Yes") will count how many cells in A1:A10
contain "Yes."
o =AVERAGEIF(B1:B10, ">100", C1:C10) will average the values in
C1:C10, but only for rows where corresponding values in B1:B10 are
greater than 100.

Data Visualization: Creating charts (bar, line, pie), PivotTables, and PivotCharts
for summarizing data.

Advanced Tools: Using Excel’s Data Analysis Toolpak for statistical analysis,
running regression models, and hypothesis testing.

Scenario Analysis: What-if analysis with Excel, creating Data Tables, Solver, and
Goal Seek.

Making Actionable Recommendations

 Data-Driven Insights: Translating analysis into insights. Identifying

patterns, correlations, and trends.
 SMART Goals: Ensuring recommendations are Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
 Prioritization: Using frameworks like SWOT analysis or the Eisenhower
matrix to prioritize actions.
  Stakeholder Communication: Tailoring recommendations based on
stakeholder needs and objectives.

Drawing Meaningful Insights

 Descriptive vs. Predictive Analytics: Explaining current trends

(descriptive) vs. predicting future outcomes (predictive).
 Data Exploration: Using techniques like clustering, regression, and
correlation analysis to uncover patterns.
 Contextualizing Data: Comparing data over time, geography, or against
benchmarks.
 Visualization: Creating compelling visualizations (charts, heatmaps,
dashboards) that make insights clearer.

Reporting Social Media Analytics

 Key Metrics: Impressions, reach, engagement rate, likes, comments, shares,

followers growth.
 Tools & Dashboards: Using platforms like Google Analytics, Hootsuite, or
Sprout Social to track performance.
 Sentiment Analysis: Understanding public perception through sentiment
analysis (positive, negative, neutral).
 Campaign Effectiveness: Tracking conversion rates, click-through rates
(CTR), and ROI from social campaigns.

Examining Case Studies

 Real-Life Examples: Reviewing case studies of businesses or organizations

that successfully used analytics.
  Problem Identification: How the organization identified key issues or
opportunities using data.
 Analytical Approach: The tools, techniques, and models used for analysis.
 Outcomes & Lessons Learned: What worked, what didn’t, and how those
insights are applicable to other contexts.

Brand Lift and Conversion Studies

 Brand Lift: Measurement of the impact of marketing efforts on brand

perception (brand awareness, recall, favorability).
o Methods: Surveys, tracking changes before and after a campaign.
o Metrics: Brand awareness, ad recall, purchase intent, brand
favorability.
 Conversion Studies: Tracking the impact of marketing on customer
behavior (purchase, sign-up).
o A/B Testing: Comparing two versions of a marketing tactic to see
which performs better.
o Funnel Analysis: Analyzing the customer journey and identifying
drop-off points.
o Attribution Models: Determining which marketing touchpoints are
most responsible for conversions.