How to Determine Kurtosis on a Mac

Print reports on kurtosis from your spreadsheet.

The study of statistics examines probability and variability. Economists, scientists, mathematicians, marketers and others who study statistics must understand a phenomenon known as kurtosis. Kurtosis is the measurement of a peak within a random set of variables. Determining kurtosis is performed in a computerized spreadsheet where you input the variable data and complete a formatted equation to find the kurtosis. If you're a Mac user, you will need to utilize a statistical software program that is compatible with the Macintosh operating system, such as Excel, SPSS or LISREL.

Instructions

Excel

1. Open the Excel spreadsheet program and select the option for a new spreadsheet under the "File" menu.

2. Identify the columns on the spreadsheet. You will see multiple columns, labeled A, B, C and so on. Type in the statistical data that you wish to find the kurtosis of. Label each column so that you know which data belongs in which column. For instance, you might use column A for "Age" and column B for "Sample Number." Only enter numerical values in the cells of the spreadsheet columns, except for the column labels.

3. Click on the "Toolbox" icon on the top of the spreadsheet work page. The Toolbox will open in a new small window on the right side of the computer screen. Look for the heading "fx," which is the icon for Formula Builder. This is the internal function of the program you will use to find the kurtosis. Click on "fx."

4. Type the word "Kurt" in the search box of Formula Builder at the top of the Toolbox window. This will bring up the option "KURT" in the list of functions.

5. Double-click the mouse on a blank cell on the spreadsheet. Now the blank cell should be highlighted. Double click on the option for "KURT" in the Toolbox window's list of functions with the mouse. The function "=KURT()" will appear in the blank cell. Use your mouse to select all of the data fields or columns that you want to find the kurtosis of. As you highlight the fields, the data is being calculated by the kurtosis formula. Press the enter key to find the solution. The cell that had the function "=KURT()" will turn into a numerical value. This is your kurtosis.

SPSS

1. Open the SPSS program. Click on the "File" button and select the option for "Type in Data" so that you can input new variables and values. This brings you to a blank, new spreadsheet.

2. Create the data table with headers in the columns. Enter the data into the cells. If you want to use variables with values, assign each variable a value by clicking on the line between the column and the row of the cell and waiting for the "..." icon to appear. Select the "..." icon and a Value Labels dialogue box will show up. This is the box where you can assign values to the variables. Select the "Add" button when you are finished.

3. Click on the "Analyze" option on the menu bar of SPSS. Select "Options" and then "Kurtosis" to find the kurtosis of the variables. Highlight the data that you want to select to find the kurtosis and hit the "Enter" button for the data to compute automatically.

LISREL

1. Open the LISREL program, select "File," and create a new document. A blank spreadsheet will appear on the screen. Double-click the mouse on the column headers to rename them to whatever your variable categories are, such as Gender or Age. Add numerical values in the cells of the spreadsheet.

2. Highlight the column that you want to use for finding the kurtosis. Select the "Analyze" option in the menu bar, which brings up a separate window for functions. Search the list of functions for kurtosis.

3. Click on the "Kurtosis" word, hold down the mouse, and drag the function into the compute box of the separate window. It will begin the equation for kurtosis. Hit "Enter" or click "OK" on the screen for the computation to take place.

Tips & Warnings

• Research and test out statistics software programs before purchasing them so you can determine the one that's most user-friendly for your purposes.

References

• Microsoft Office: KURT
• Carnegie Mellon Department of Statistics: Learning SPSS: Data and EDA
• Scientific Software International: LISREL for Windows