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We are announcing the following courses, taking place at the Statistical Services Centre, The University of Reading. MICROSOFT© EXCEL(TM) FOR STATISTICS? WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT DO 15-16 November 1999 SCIENTIFIC DATA MANAGEMENT USING MS© ACCESS(TM) 17-18 November 1999 For further information and registration details please contact Kellie Watkins ([log in to unmask]) providing an address and/or fax number. ____________________________________________________________________________ _________________ MICROSOFT© EXCEL TM FOR STATISTICS? WHAT YOU CAN AND CANNOT DO 15-16 November 1999 This two day course is designed for Excel users who need to get the most out of Excel for statistical analysis. Excel has both strengths and weaknesses for statistical applications and the course aims to highlight these and to indicate at which point it would be more advisable to switch to specialised statistical software. In addition to Excel's worksheet functions which include a number of facilities for probability and statistical calculations, there are also some procedures for statistical data analysis available as "add-ins" in the "Analysis ToolPak". The most useful of these functions and procedures will be explored in the course. Other important aspects of statistical data analysis are data management, data summary and exploration, tabulations and statistical graphics. The extent to which Excel can be used for these aspects, as well as its limitations, are also covered. A major element of the course is practical work which will be done in the Centre's well-equipped computing laboratory. Course Content Ø Data management concepts and techniques Ø Summary statistics and data exploration Ø Tabulations Ø Statistical graphics Ø Statistical tools provided with Excel, including descriptive statistics, hypothesis tests, correlation and regression, analysis of variance Ø Getting the most out of Excel functions Ø Using Excel with statistics packages Participants are assumed to have some familiarity with basic Excel skills and with elementary statistical methods. ____________________________________________________________________________ ________________________ SCIENTIFIC DATA MANAGEMENT USING MS© ACCESS TM 17-18 November 1999 Research generates data of different levels of complexity for which a spreadsheet has limitations if used as a data management tool. This is especially true for hierarchical structures. Using the wrong approach to the management of data can lead to data redudancy and can compromise data integrity. Often a relational database management system is the answer, and during the course Access is demonstrated, as it is widely available, although the concepts apply to any relational database package. The course will cover database design, data entry and validation. This includes creating tables, assigning primary keys, setting up relationships between tables, designing forms for data entry and imposing restrictions on the type of data that can be entered in particular fields. We will also look at ways of transferring subsets of data to Excel or to a statistics package for analysis. Implicit in this is the use of queries. During the course we will use example databases on survey, monitoring and experimental data. There are many training courses and books available which deal with Access for business application - in contrast this course will focus on scientific work. Kellie Watkins Statistical Services Centre The University of Reading Harry Pitt Building PO Box 240 Whiteknights Road Reading RG6 6FN UK Tel: +44 (0)118 931 8689 Fax: +44 (0)118 975 3169 Email: [log in to unmask] See our website on http://www.reading.ac.uk/ssc %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%