How to Find Standard Deviation on Microsoft Excel

Standard deviation is a statistical measure used to assess the variation for sample data from the mean. You can easily calculate standard deviation using Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel has many functions and formulas available to perform various types of calculations automatically. A formula to calculate the standard deviation is also available. Using Excel to automatically calculate the data saves users time over having to go through the process of manually performing the calculations.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Excel 2007

Instructions

1. Open a new workbook in Microsoft Excel 2007. Enter data down a column. For example, if you want to find the standard deviation for a sample of test scores, enter test scores in column A.

2. Click on an empty cell. Go to the "Formulas" tab in the toolbar and click on "Insert Function." Type "standard deviation" in the search formula text box. Click on the "Go" button. Select "STDEV" and click "OK."

3. In the number1 field, enter the range of cells that are populated with data. For example, if you have the test scores in cells A1 through A7, enter "A1:A7". Click "OK." The resulting value is the standard deviation.

References

• University of Connecticut: Calculating the Mean and Standard Deviation with Excel