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Making the Best Spreadsheet.

 

Having a quality spreadsheet to collect data in can make your life a thousand times easier when doing a meta-analysis.  

Freeze the first row and column of the spreadsheet.
 

1. View

2. Freeze

3. 1 row AND/OR 1 column

 

This is helpful as your spreadsheet grows. Freezing rows and columns enables you to scroll through your data while still being able to see the author and column type of the cell you are looking at. 

Take advantage of Excel's formula capabilities.
 

Excel can calculate all the values you'll ever need, right in your spreadsheet. 

 

1. click on a cell and type "=". This activates the formula capabilities.

2. If you want a number in another cell included in your formula, simply click that cell and it's location will appear in your formula.

3. To calculate an average of several values, type "=average( " then enter or highlight your values.

4. To calculate a square root, type "=SQRT( " followed by your values.  

5. For other formulas, use google! 

Define variables.
 

It helps to add notes into the spreadsheet in order to remind yourself of everything from the units a column is coded in to the specific values each code represents. 

 

1. Right click on the cell in the top row of variables.

2. Click on "insert note"

3. Enter the information for that column into the box that pops up.

4. To see notes again, simply hover the mouse over any cell with a black triangle in the corner. 

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