Statistical Analysis with Excel For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 6

Meeting Standards and Standings

In This Chapter

Standardizing scores

Making comparisons

Working with ranks in files

Rolling in the percentiles

In my left hand I hold 15 Argentine pesos. In my right, I hold 100 Chilean pesos. Which is worth more? Both currencies are called pesos, right? So shouldn’t the 100 be greater than the 15? Not necessarily. “Peso” is just word magic — a coincidence of names. Each one comes out of a different country, and each country has its own economy. To compare the two amounts of money, you have to convert each currency into a standard unit. The most intuitive standard for us is our own currency. How much is each amount worth in dollars and cents? As I write this, 15 Argentine pesos are worth more than $3. One hundred Chilean pesos are worth about 21 cents.

In this chapter, I show you how to use statistics to create standard units. Standard units show you where a score stands in relation to other scores in a group, and I show you additional ways to determine a score’s standing within a group.

Catching Some Zs

As the previous paragraph shows, ...