Week 5: Muddy/Creating Pivot Tables in Microsoft Excel

As I was working through this weeks' lectures on Microsoft Excel, I found one of the topics to be a bit more challenging than all the others.  Although I watched the lecture on pivot tables twice, when I attempted to complete the exercise provided I still wasn't able to perform some of the tasks that were required.  I decided to write about pivot tables for this week's blog in an effort to learn more about this function of Excel.

While researching pivot tables via the Internet, I found a great explanation of what it is that a pivot table accomplishes; "You might think of a pivot table as a user created summary table of your original spreadsheet. You create the table by defining which fields to view and how the information should be displayed. Based on your field selections, Excel organizes the data so you see a different view of your data." 

This explanation helped put into perspective exactly what pivot tables are used for.  However, my problem was that I still wasn't quite sure how to use them effectively.  Although the lecture helped, for some reason I didn't have a clear grasp on the concept.  So I searched for videos which would demonstrate in further detail how to navigate through a pivot table on Excel.  I found one very useful video, which I have included below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxKaJP8I-mA

This video helped me further understand the functions of pivot tables, and how to use them.  It explains that you would normally click on "new worksheet" rather than "existing worksheet," which I had previously made the mistake of doing.  It also gave clearer examples of what types of data go into the specific boxes.  For example, if you have information that contains numbers only, then you would drag that information in the sum values box.  However, if you have information that includes numbers and text, then, depending on how you want the information displayed on your sheet, you could drag it to column labels or row labels.  Upon doing so, your information is immediately displayed on the worksheet next to the pivot table just as you have indicated.

After watching this video tutorial, I hope to have an easier time with pivot tables not only to help with my Excel project, but to also help me later on in my career, when I put it to practical use.  Pivot tables are one of the many great functions of Microsoft Excel, and they are a great way to analyze a very large amount of data with just a few keystrokes.

Websites referenced:  http://www.timeatlas.com/5_minute_tips/chunkers/learn_to_use_pivot_tables_in_excel_2007_to_organize_data