Using spreadsheets in statistics

Abstract

The first example in this chapter is of a time series in which a company uses a spreadsheet to predict their next year’s production on the basis of past production figures. The information is first of all displayed in a worksheet table; later on this will be displayed in the form of a chart. The first part of the worksheet shows the quarterly production for the years 1988 to 1991 and the output, p, for these quarters. The time, t, is measured from an assumed mean, which is the fourth quarter of 1989. The formula to calculate the time difference is then copied down column D as shown in Figure 6.1.