Today we'll be introducing you to one of the basic tools of data analytics, it's called "a spreadsheet".

What is a SPREADSHEET?

If you have recorded information in a book before, using the format of a table, then you have used a spreadsheet to keep a record.

A spreadsheet is simply a record keeping/data storing format which keeps detailed information about a particular thing.

Say for example, you have a list of students that are registered for a class, the list has details of each student such as name, age, contact, etc.

It can also be a list of items in your shop detailing the size of each one and their prices.

Now each of those details about either the students or the items, join together to make up a "spreadsheet".

Without a computer, we can make spreadsheets on books and papers, but computers have become popular because of the efficiency in calculations, easy storage and retrieval of files and many other advantages.

The electronic spreadsheet is a computer program/software that is used for carrying out several tasks, from calculations of millions of data in few seconds to documentation and storing of large information in database.

A good grasp of spreadsheet and it's automation is a very important and highly in-demand skill for any data analyst.

We will talk about two types of spreadsheets in this "Become a Data Analyst" tutorial series. First, Microsoft Excel and second Google sheet.

Excel is a popular application from Microsoft, it comes as one of the MS Office packages. While Google sheet is an online version of Excel, but owned and offered by Google and can only be accessed using an internet connection, unlike excel which works perfectly offline.

You can do basically the same things with both tools, except for just a few features. With Google sheet, you can collaborate with others irrespective of their location and you can have access to all your files from any connected device at any location.

Next Post: Getting familiar with the Excel User Interface