When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate
There are 6 modules in this course
As data becomes the modern currency, so the ability to analyse the data quickly and accurately has become of paramount importance. Excel with its extraordinarily broad range of features and capabilities is one of the most widely used programs for doing this. In the first course of our Excel Skills for Data Analysis and Visualization Specialization, you will learn the fundamentals of Excel for data analysis. When you have completed the course, you will be able to use a range of Excel tools and functions to clean and prepare data for analysis; automate data analysis with the help of Named Ranges and Tables; and use logical and lookup functions to transform, link and categorise data.
This course will enable you to build a strong foundation in the fundamentals, helping you to be more efficient in your day-to-day and developing the necessary skills to work with the more advanced techniques used in later courses. To make the content easy to relate to and to personalize the learning experience, we are going to follow Zara's journey through the course. Who is Zara? Well, she is no-one and everyone. You will find that Zara's trials and tribulations sound familiar, and together with Zara, you will develop your Excel skills along the way — and, importantly, have some fun doing it.
The Excel Skills for Data Analytics and Visualization courses are the sequel to one of most successful specializations on Coursera, Excel Skills for Business, which has attracted hundreds of thousands of learners and top ratings. Transform your skills, your confidence, and your opportunities by adding this new set of skills to your repertoire.
In this module, you will explore how to use Excel's powerful text functions to clean and manipulate data, ensuring that it’s in the right format for analysis. Mastering these functions will allow you to transform unstructured data into actionable insights.By the end of this module, you will be an expert in Excel's Text functions. This module discusses ways you can extract information and manipulate data to fulfil specific business requirements. You will develop techniques for working confidently with these Excel functions and unlock the full power of Excel by manipulating and cleaning text data. This is really important because you cannot properly analyse data if it is invalid or in an unsuitable format. You will begin with the mechanics of creating a function, specifying multiple arguments, and then you will look at how to work with text in functions. You will also learn how to use multiple functions in a single formula — a technique known as nesting. The topics you will be learning this week: Functions for Combining Text; Functions for Splitting Text; Combining Text Functions; Cleaning Data & Changing Case; and Removing and replacing unwanted characters.
What's included
7 videos7 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
7 videos•Total 33 minutes
Course Introduction•3 minutes
Week 1 Introduction•5 minutes
Excel Functions for Combining Text Values•7 minutes
Functions that split text data•4 minutes
Combining text functions•6 minutes
Cleaning data and changing case•5 minutes
Removing and replacing text characters•5 minutes
7 readings•Total 80 minutes
Welcome to Excel Fundamentals for Data Analysis•15 minutes
Course goals and weekly learning objectives•10 minutes
Important information about versions and regions•10 minutes
Read me before you start: Quizzes and Navigation•10 minutes
Download the Week 1 Workbooks•5 minutes
Week 1 Practice Challenge•20 minutes
Week 1 Toolbox•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 80 minutes
Excel Functions for Combining Text Values•10 minutes
Functions that split text data •10 minutes
Combining text functions •10 minutes
Cleaning data and changing case •10 minutes
Removing and replacing text characters •10 minutes
Cleaning and manipulating text: Test your skills•30 minutes
Working with numbers and dates
Module 2•3 hours to complete
Module details
By the end of this module, you will be an expert in Excel's Date functions. This module discusses ways that you can extract information and manipulate data to fulfil specific business requirements. You will also
be looking at functions for converting data types: such as text to numbers, dates to text, and then both numbers and text to dates. You will learn to solve the problem of data not being in the correct format, and you will learn how to perform arithmetic operations with dates like you would with numbers, as well as performing calculations with dates. You will also learn some really great functions specifically for solving day-to-day tricky date problems that are required in business such as the WORKDAY, EDATE and EOMONTH functions. The topics you will be learning this week: Converting Data Types; Understanding dates and basic date functions; Generating valid dates; Calculating days between two dates; and Calculating dates from a given date.
What's included
6 videos3 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
6 videos•Total 37 minutes
Week 2 Introduction•4 minutes
Converting Data with VALUE and TEXT•6 minutes
Understanding dates and basic date functions•7 minutes
Generating Valid Dates using the DATE function•6 minutes
Calculations with Dates and using DAYS, NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY•9 minutes
More sophisticated date calculations with EOMONTH and EDATE•6 minutes
3 readings•Total 40 minutes
Download the Week 2 Workbooks•10 minutes
Week 2 Practice Challenge•20 minutes
Week 2 Toolbox•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 80 minutes
Converting Data with VALUE and TEXT•10 minutes
Understanding dates and basic date functions•10 minutes
Generating Valid Dates using the DATE function•10 minutes
Calculations with Dates and using DAYS, NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY•10 minutes
More sophisticated date calculations with EOMONTH and EDATE•10 minutes
Working with numbers and dates: Test your skills•30 minutes
Defined Names for working more effectively with data
Module 3•3 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will learn about different types of cell referencing: relative cell referencing, absolute cell referencing, and mixed cell referencing. You will then learn about a great Excel functionality, Named Ranges — which is another way of referencing a cell or a range of cells by giving them a sensible name. You will see that named ranges make our formulas much easier to understand and you will also see how it makes them much easier to create — using tools such as Define Name and Create from Selection. You will also learn about Excel's Name Box and the Name Manager. You will learn some exciting Excel functions that allow you to aggregate and summarise data — such as SUMIFS and COUNTIFS, and much more. The topics you will be learning this week: Cell referencing and naming; Creating named ranges; Managing named ranges; Calculations with named ranges; and Automating processes with named ranges.
What's included
6 videos3 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
6 videos•Total 36 minutes
Week 3 Introduction•6 minutes
Cell Referencing and Naming•7 minutes
Defined Names and Create from Selection•5 minutes
Managing Names•6 minutes
Calculations with Named Ranges•7 minutes
Automating Data Validation with Named Ranges•7 minutes
3 readings•Total 40 minutes
Download the Week 3 Workbooks•10 minutes
Week 3 Practice Challenge•20 minutes
Week 3 Toolbox•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 80 minutes
Cell Referencing and Naming•10 minutes
Defined Names and Create from Selection•10 minutes
Managing Names•10 minutes
Calculations with Named Ranges•10 minutes
Automating Data Validation with Named Ranges•10 minutes
Defined Names for working more effectively with data: Test your skills•30 minutes
Tables for automating data manipulation
Module 4•3 hours to complete
Module details
In this module, you will learn that a table in Excel is more like a database of records and fields which contains a set of related information — such as a table of inventory data. You will learn how to create, format, and manage tables, and you will learn how to easily format, select, sort, and filter in a table. You will also learn about the Total Row where you can just pick from a set of automated summarisation functions. You will learn about structured referencing — where you can continue to work with the data in a table, but the formulas look slightly different because tables use a different way to reference cells. You will also learn how to automatically extend tables whenever new data is added. The topics you will be learning this week: Creating, naming and removing tables; Formatting and selecting in tables; Sorting and filtering tables; Performing calculations with structured references; and Automating processes with tables.
What's included
6 videos3 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
6 videos•Total 42 minutes
Week 4 Introduction•5 minutes
Introduction to Tables•6 minutes
Customising Tables•6 minutes
Sorting and Filtering Tables•8 minutes
Table Calculations and Structured References•9 minutes
Automation with Tables•8 minutes
3 readings•Total 40 minutes
Download the Week 4 Workbooks•10 minutes
Week 4 Practice Challenge•20 minutes
Week 4 Toolbox•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 80 minutes
Introduction to Tables•10 minutes
Customising Tables•10 minutes
Sorting and Filtering Tables•10 minutes
Table Calculations and Structured References•10 minutes
Automation with Tables•10 minutes
Tables for automating data manipulation: Test your skills•30 minutes
Logical and lookup functions
Module 5•3 hours to complete
Module details
You will learn two great Excel skills in this week’s module — first, you will learn about conditional logic, and second, you will learn about automating lookups. The two of these tools together will push your data analytics to the next level! Excel has several logical functions and this module explores some of them, such as AND, OR, and IF. You will start by learning the concept of conditional logic, and how conditional logic works in Excel formulas. You will then learn to conduct logic tests and use conditional operations. For more complex logic tree scenarios, you will learn how to use nested IF functions to evaluate data. You will then learn about lookup functions — these are widely used in data analytics for connecting data sets as well as error checking. You will learn about one of the most widely used lookup functions in business — VLOOKUP, as well as other lookup functions such as INDEX and MATCH, as well as Excel newest lookup function — XLOOKUP. The topics you will be learning this week: Performing logical operations with IF; Applying advanced logical operations; Categorising data with VLOOKUP; Matching data with VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP; and Advanced data matching with INDEX and MATCH.
What's included
6 videos3 readings6 assignments
Show info about module content
6 videos•Total 40 minutes
Week 5 Introduction•6 minutes
Apply logical operations to data using IF•6 minutes
Nested IF, AND and OR•6 minutes
Categorising data with VLOOKUP•5 minutes
Matching data with VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP•7 minutes
Power Lookups with INDEX and MATCH•9 minutes
3 readings•Total 40 minutes
Download the Week 5 Workbooks•10 minutes
Week 5 Practice Challenge•20 minutes
Week 5 Toolbox•10 minutes
6 assignments•Total 80 minutes
Apply logical operations to data using IF•10 minutes
Nested IF, AND and OR•10 minutes
Categorising data with VLOOKUP•10 minutes
Matching data with VLOOKUP and XLOOKUP•10 minutes
Power Lookups with INDEX and MATCH•10 minutes
Logical and lookup functions: Test your skills•30 minutes
Final assessment
Module 6•1 hour to complete
Module details
This is the final assessment of the course and it is worth 25% of your total grade. As this is the final assessment, it requires you to demonstrate the learning objectives from each of the weeks — and thus requires you to demonstrate all the learning objectives of the entire course.
What's included
1 assignment
Show info about module content
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
Final Assessment•60 minutes
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV. Share it on social media and in your performance review.
Instructors
Instructor ratings
Instructor ratings
We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.
Macquarie is ranked among the top one per cent of universities in the world, and with a 5-star QS rating, we are recognised for producing graduates who are among the most sought-after professionals in the world. Since our foundation 54 years ago, we have aspired to be a different type of university: one focused on fostering collaboration between students, academics, industry and society.
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."
Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."
Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."
Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."
Learner reviews
4.8
4,301 reviews
5 stars
81.96%
4 stars
15.22%
3 stars
1.65%
2 stars
0.25%
1 star
0.90%
Showing 3 of 4301
J
JM
5·
Reviewed on Apr 27, 2021
I finished Excel Skills for Business and this course is even better than the one I just mentioned. Very well structured/explained. I am very motivated to improve my Excel Skills. Thank you!
Q
QP
5·
Reviewed on Dec 3, 2023
This is the best course I have seen in excel fundamentals on any platform. Easy to follow, many practice tests, spreadsheets and useful cheatsheets. Kudos to the instructors and Macquarie University.
A
AV
5·
Reviewed on Jul 10, 2020
Super fun and and intellectual course. Real need of hour to excel in Excel :) . This course helped a lot, in improving skills in excel analytics.special thanks to both the instructors !!!!!!!
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.