How to Calculate Quartiles
Quartiles are used to divide a set of data into four equal parts. In this Excel tutorial, you will teach yourself how to calculate quartiles.
Use of the QUARTILE.INC function
To calculate quartiles in Excel just use QUARTILE.INC function. The QUARTILE function in Excel returns the quartile of a set of data.
QUARTILE.INC syntax is:
=QUARTILE.INC(array, quart)
where:
array is your data table
quart is a number of quartile which you want to calculate
Example:
Your data table is in A1:A10 range and you want to calculate second quartile.
How to calculate a second quartile?
To calculate second quartile just use this function:
=IFERROR(QUARTILE.INC(A1:A20,2),”No Values”)
IFERROR function in this formula prevents you from #NUM! error. It happens when your data table will be empty.
Examples of calculating quartiles
You can set quart in QUARTILE.INC formula to 0 – 4.
=IFERROR(QUARTILE.INC(A1:A20;0);”No Values”) – shows minimum value
=IFERROR(QUARTILE.INC(A1:A20,1),”No Values”) – calculates first quartile
=IFERROR(QUARTILE.INC(A1:A20,2),”No Values”) – calculates second quartile (which is median)
=IFERROR(QUARTILE.INC(A1:A20,3),”No Values”) – calculates third quartile
=IFERROR(QUARTILE.INC(A1:A20,4),”No Values”) – shows maximum value
Use of the PERCENTILE function
- The PERCENTILE function in Excel returns the nth percentile of a set of data. The syntax for the PERCENTILE function is as follows: =PERCENTILE(array, k).
- “Array” is the range of cells that contains the data.
- “K” is the percentile that you want to calculate. It is a number between 0 and 1, inclusive.
- For example, to calculate the first quartile (25th percentile), set k to 0.25. To calculate the second quartile (50th percentile), set k to 0.5, and so on.
- For example, if your data is in the range A1:A10, to calculate the first quartile, enter the formula =PERCENTILE(A1:A10,0.25) in a cell.
Using the Median function
- The median is the middle value of a set of data. In Excel, you can use the MEDIAN function to calculate the median. The syntax for the MEDIAN function is as follows: =MEDIAN(number1, [number2], …).
- “Number1” is the first number in the data set.
- You can also include additional numbers in the data set by adding additional arguments to the function.
- To calculate the median of a set of data, enter the MEDIAN function in a cell and then list the range of cells that contain the data as the arguments.
- For example, if your data is in the range A1:A10, to calculate the median, enter the formula =MEDIAN(A1:A10) in a cell.
- To calculate the first and third quartiles, you can use the MEDIAN function to calculate the median of the first half and the second half of the data set. To do this, you will need to sort the data in ascending or descending order and then use the MEDIAN function to calculate the median of the first half and second half of the data set.
In conclusion, there are several methods to calculate quartiles in Excel, including the QUARTILE function, the PERCENTILE function, and the MEDIAN function. Whichever method you choose, you can easily calculate quartiles in Excel to analyze and understand your data.
Leave a Reply