Descriptive statistics with formulas

Summarize a column of measurements — mean, median, spread, percentiles, and a correlation — using ordinary spreadsheet formulas.

You'll need: abax only; the statistics functions are built in.

Run it

cd docs/examples/formulas/descriptive-statistics
python run.py

What you should see

        Mean: 305.333
      Median: 303.0
     Std dev: 20.065
   Min / Max: 279 / 344
 90th pctile: 329.2
         IQR: 27.25
  r (A vs B): -0.925

How it works

• Reaction times go in column A, scores in column B — plain values.
• Each summary line is one formula: =AVERAGE(A1:A12), =STDEV.S(…), =PERCENTILE(A1:A12, 0.9), =QUARTILE(…, 3) - QUARTILE(…, 1).
• =CORREL(A1:A12, B1:B12) returns −0.925: slower reactions, lower scores — a strong negative correlation.
• Text and numbers concatenate with &, as in =MIN(A1:A12)&" / "&MAX(A1:A12).

Next steps

• In the GUI, Tools → Data analysis → Descriptive statistics produces a full report sheet from a selection — see data & analysis tools.
• The formula reference lists every statistical function, including the distributions and hypothesis tests.
• Dynamic arrays — SORT/UNIQUE/FILTER spills.