Table of contents Preface XI SECTION 1 LEARN AND UNDERSTAND 1 Chapter 1. Evolution of ICT and digitalization in the information society 3 1.1 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 3 1.2 From digitalization to Big Data 5 1.3 Evolution of hardware technology 7 1.3.1 Increase in processing power and memory 7 1.3.2 Size reduction 10 1.3.3 Extension of functionality 11 1.4 Evolution of software technology 14 1.4.1 Evolution of programming languages 16 1.4.2 Ubiquity and ease of use 18 1.4.3 New forms of use 19 1.5 Evolution of telecommunication networks 21 1.5.1 Cloud computing 22 1.5.2 Mobile networks 24 1.5.3 Broadband 26 1.5.4 Internet of Things 29 Chapter 2. Web, Web 2.0 and online information 31 2.1 Information on the Web 31 2.2 Finding information on the Web 33 2.2.1 Search engines 33 2.2.2 How a search engine works 36 V
Computer skills handbook for economics 2.3 Search engines and web marketing 40 2.3.1 Search engine optimization (SEO) 40 2.3.2 Search engine marketing, Search engine advertising and web marketing 43 2.4 Other resources to find information on the Web 46 2.5 From Web to Web 2.0 48 2.5.1 User Generated Content 49 2.5.2 Web as a platform 50 2.5.3 Perpetual beta 50 2.5.4 Folksonomy 51 2.6 Perspectives of analysis of Web 2.0 52 2.6.1 Social perspective 53 2.6.2 Economic perspective 53 2.6.3 Legal and ethical perspective 56 2.6.4 Technological perspective 59 2.7 Using information in Web 2.0 60 2.7.1 The quality of contents in Web 2.0 60 2.7.2 Sharing contents and research outputs 64 SECTION 2 PROCESS AND ANALYZE 67 Chapter 3. Basic concepts of the spreadsheet 69 3.1 Introduction to the spreadsheet 69 3.1.1 Definitions and history 69 3.1.2 Comparison among the main spreadsheets on the market 70 3.2 Formulas and functions 76 3.2.1 Cell references 76 3.2.2 Formulas 77 3.2.3 Functions 78 3.2.4 SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN functions 79 3.2.5 ROUND and INT functions 81 3.2.6 ABS function 84 3.2.7 COUNTA, COUNT and COUNTBLANK functions 85 3.2.8 IF function 87 3.2.9 Nested functions 89 3.2.10 Errors in formulas 91 3.3 Formatting 92 3.3.1 Main concepts 92 3.3.2 Conditional formatting 97 3.4 Sorting and linking data 100 3.4.1 Sorting data in a list 100 3.4.2 Linking two cells in a workbook 101 VI
Table of contents 3.5 Charts 102 3.5.1 Creating a chart 102 3.5.2 Changing layout and style of a chart 103 3.5.3 Changing the data source in a chart 104 3.5.4 Adding a trendline to a chart 105 3.5.5 Showing a second axis and creating mixed charts 106 3.6 Language and regional settings in Excel 108 3.6.1 Localization and languages in Microsoft Office 108 3.6.2 Setting the language of Windows operating system 108 3.6.3 Managing Windows default formats 109 3.6.4 Setting the language of Microsoft Office 111 3.6.5 Other Office options that affect regional settings 112 Chapter 4. Creating an effective spreadsheet 115 4.1 Importing data into Excel 115 4.1.1 Which data? 115 4.1.2 How to import data 116 4.2 Features of an effective spreadsheet 129 4.2.1 Guidelines for organizing data properly 129 4.3 Preparation of a dataset 133 4.3.1 Dataset features and data cleaning 133 4.3.2 Uniformity of data: normalization 134 4.3.3 Remove Duplicates command 135 4.3.4 Paste options 136 4.3.5 Text to Columns command 137 4.4 Automating operations with Macros 138 4.4.1 Introduction to Macros 138 4.4.2 Macro security settings 139 4.4.3 Recording a Macro 142 4.4.4 Running a Macro 144 4.4.5 Saving a Macro-Enabled Excel workbook 148 4.4.6 Introduction to Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 148 4.5 Protecting data 151 4.5.1 Protecting cells in a worksheet 151 4.5.2 Protecting elements of a workbook 154 4.5.3 Protecting files from opening and from editing 155 4.5.4 Encrypt the content of the file and protect it with a password 155 Chapter 5. Calculations and functions with the spreadsheet 157 5.1 Math and Trigonometry functions 157 5.1.1 RAND and RANDBETWEEN functions 158 5.1.2 SUMPRODUCT function 159 VII
Computer skills handbook for economics 5.1.3 SUMIF function 160 5.1.4 SUMIFS function 162 5.2 Logical functions 164 5.2.1 AND function 165 5.2.2 OR function 166 5.2.3 IFERROR function 167 5.3 Lookup and Reference functions 168 5.3.1 VLOOKUP function 168 5.3.2 HLOOKUP function 171 5.4 Date and Time functions 173 5.4.1 Managing dates and times in Excel 173 5.4.2 TODAY and NOW functions 178 5.4.3 DAY, MONTH and YEAR functions 179 5.4.4 DATE function 179 5.4.5 HOUR, MINUTE and SECOND functions 181 5.4.6 WEEKDAY function 182 5.4.7 NETWORKDAYS function 183 5.4.8 DATEDIF function 185 5.5 Financial functions 187 5.5.1 PMT function 188 5.5.2 PPMT function 190 5.5.3 IPMT function 191 5.5.4 RATE function 193 5.5.5 FV function 195 5.5.6 PV function 196 5.5.7 NPV function 197 5.5.8 IRR function 199 5.6 Statistical functions 200 5.6.1 COUNTIF function 200 5.6.2 AVERAGEIF function 201 5.6.3 COUNTIFS function 203 5.6.4 AVERAGEIFS function 205 5.7 Text functions 206 5.7.1 LEFT and RIGHT functions 207 5.7.2 MID function 208 5.7.3 CONCATENATE function 209 5.7.4 LEN function 210 5.7.5 SEARCH function 211 5.7.6 TEXT function 212 5.7.7 UPPER, LOWER and PROPER functions 213 5.7.8 TRIM function 214 5.8 Other functions 215 5.8.1 CONVERT function 215 VIII
Table of contents Chapter 6. Data analysis with the spreadsheet 219 6.1 What-if analysis 219 6.1.1 Goal seek 221 6.1.2 Data tables 224 6.1.3 Scenarios 228 6.1.4 Naming cells 234 6.1.5 Solver 236 6.2 Data validation 241 6.3 Filters 245 6.3.1 Filter tool 245 6.3.2 Advanced filter 247 6.4 Subtotals 249 6.5 Pivot tables and Pivot charts 253 6.5.1 Pivot tables 253 6.5.2 Customization of the Pivot table 255 6.5.3 Slicers 260 6.5.4 Timelines 262 6.5.5 Pivot charts 262 SECTION 3 SHARE AND COMMUNICATE 265 Chapter 7. Document management and online collaboration 267 7.1 Sharing information 267 7.1.1 Issues related to the distribution of documents 267 7.1.2 Different existing formats 268 7.1.3 Compatibility 271 7.1.4 Protection 272 7.1.5 Hidden information (metadata) 273 7.2 Computer collaboration tools 275 7.2.1 Groupware 275 7.2.2 Examples of groupware 275 7.2.3 Using email appropriately 283 7.3 Google Drive 287 7.3.1 General information and access to Google Drive 287 7.3.2 Creating and sharing a document 288 7.3.3 Creating a form 292 7.4 Microsoft Office Online 298 7.4.1 General information and access to Office Online 298 7.4.2 Using Office Online 299 IX
Computer skills handbook for economics Chapter 8. Effective presentations 303 8.1 Guidelines for an effective presentation 303 8.2 Planning 304 8.2.1 Objective 305 8.2.2 Audience 306 8.2.3 Time, place and style 307 8.3 Building the presentation 308 8.3.1 Collecting and outlining ideas 308 8.3.2 Identifying a presentation pattern 308 8.3.3 Creating the slides 310 8.3.4 Opening and closing slides, titles and footer 312 8.3.5 Text 313 8.3.6 Colors and contrast 315 8.3.7 Images and graphics 316 8.3.8 Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity 318 8.3.9 Multimedia and animations 320 8.4 Presenting 320 8.4.1 Presenting in front of the audience 320 8.4.2 Handing out material to the audience 322 8.5 PowerPoint elements for creating effective presentations 323 8.5.1 Slide Master and layout 324 8.5.2 Themes 325 8.5.3 SmartArt 326 8.6 Not only PowerPoint 327 Bibliography 331 Authors 335 X