Excel Tricks for Postgraduate Students – How to Clean, Analyse, and Present Data Like a Data Ninja

 Present clean, smart data.



Introduction
Excel isn’t just for bankers and accountants. When I analysed field data for my study, “Evaluating the Gender-Inclusive Uptake of New Media Platforms by Nano and Micro Enterprises in Kano State,” Excel helped me code responses, clean inconsistencies, and run frequency tables before porting to SPSS. Here are some tricks you can start using now.

1. Clean Data with Filters

Remove blanks, check for duplicates, and sort errors using the filter tool.

🧠 Analogy: Like sieving beans before cooking — only the clean ones make it to the pot.

2. Use VLOOKUP to Combine Datasets

In my Kano study, I had separate lists for women entrepreneurs and their digital tool preferences. VLOOKUP helped me match them efficiently.

📘 Formula:
=VLOOKUP(A2, Sheet2!A:C, 3, FALSE)

3. COUNTIF for Frequencies

Want to know how many respondents chose “Instagram” as their preferred tool? Use COUNTIF.

📘 Formula:
=COUNTIF(C2:C100, "Instagram")

4. Use IF Statements to Categorize Scores

If you have scores or age brackets, use IF statements to group your data.

📘 Example:
=IF(A2>=50, "High Score", "Low Score")

5. Conditional Formatting for Instant Visuals

Colour-code your values to see patterns instantly. For instance, I used red highlights to track low digital adoption among microbusinesses.

Conclusion
Excel might seem basic — but in the hands of a smart researcher, it’s gold. From cleaning data to presenting it clearly for your Chapter Four. So, don’t ignore its power.

Hope this was helpful.

📩 DM “EXCEL FIX” if you want access to our Smart Tools PDF for FREE.


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