Introduction to Data Analysis Handbook - AED Center for Early Care ...

Appendix B: Using Excel To Help
Analyze Your Quantitative Data
The task of reviewing and analyzing your quantitative data is made easier with a computer
software spreadsheet. one such example is Microsoft’s Excel. You will want to begin the
process by considering the questions that you want to address. Some of the questions are
close-ended questions (e.g., Where are you living now? Where did you live before?) that
can be answered using a limited number of responses (e.g., selection 1, 2, 3, or 4; yes/no;
etc.).
For example, if you were to utilize the following questions (i.e.,
•
•
•
•
Where are you living now?
How many children (under age 5) live with you?
How old are each of the children?
How many children do you have in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start?)
and put them into a spreadsheet, it might look something like the following:
Since the first question (Where are you living?) is not a numerical response, you might
want to create some geographical categories (e.g., East, South, West, north) or names of
farms or camps (e.g., Campo Verde, Campo Chico, etc.) to which you could then enter
a “1” for each parent responding. For questions like How old are each of the children?,
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