Excel is the most widely used spreadsheet and table program on home and office computers. This ambiguity makes me count on simple to use and at the same time more complex functions. All coexist in the same program.
In this sense, It is normal for less experts to be unaware of certain tools. However, the Internet offers us a window to knowledge. So in this post We will show you how to use one of the utilities most used by statesmen.
To know everything about percentiles and how it is applied in various situationsWe recommend that you read the content of the following text.
What are the percentiles and what are these data for in statistical operations?
The percentile is a statistical measure used to determine the projection of a population based on characteristic traits that its behavior has. It is widely used in children's medicine, since it can be established according to its age and gender, the probable height when it has a specific unit and how is its current height with respect to the total of children of its age.
That is, the whole population is taken, The data is ordered from smallest to largest and its projection is analyzed. Then it is compared to the statistical stratum that is you need to study and determine what percentage is below or above the projection. Do not forget that the percentile is studied in a frequency distribution with base equal to 1.
So the values it can take are from 1 to 99 and it is represented as the percentage below the observations. That is, if a 35th percentile (P35), it is interpreted as the 35% of the observations comply with the characteristics of the general population. Thus, the 50th percentile will be equal to the median in the frequency distribution, which may or may not coincide with the average. In turn the P25 will be equal to the first quartile and the P75 to the third quartile.
What aspects should be taken into account when calculating the percentiles?
Some of the aspects that you must take into account when calculating the percentiles is that you will have to work with a frequency distribution equal to 1 and that they, to be interpreted, must be related to the percentages. They are also linked to quartiles and deciles., since the normal distribution can be divided into 4 or 10 parts. This means that each time a percentile is studied what you are analyzing is a location in the gauss bell.
For this reason, to work with percentiles you must have the data in order from lowest to highest otherwise, there would be no normal frequency distribution. Finally, so that you can make comparisons between the cases you want to analyze, both they must be homogeneous. By this we mean that you can compare, for example, if you use it in children's medicine, to people who are the same age and the same gender.
Steps to calculate a percentile in an Excel spreadsheet correctly
The steps you will have to perform to calculate a percentile in an Excel spreadsheet are the following:
- Enter the group data that you want to analyze.
- If you want you can graphing using a histogram so you have a better understanding of the distribution.
- Then go to the tab Formulas and select the option More features.
- Find the Statistics functions and then click PERCENTIL.EXC.
- A window will open in which you must choose the matrix and the percentile number. You must take into account that Excel works on both by one, so if you are looking 5% you will have to write 0.05.
- To finish you will have to interpret the result based on the chosen percentage for analysis.