The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.
– Thomas Berger
If you’re just stepping into the world of research, the sheer number of tools available in the market can be overwhelming. If you manage to hold your breath, swim through, and find a tool to answer your basic research questions, you now have to cope with its learning curve.
To help deal with these issues, we present you with the simplest of research tools—Zoho Sheet. There are features in Zoho Sheet that perform the duties of a basic research tool, without the hassle of typing lines and lines of code. Zoho’s products make the whole process easy, so let’s take you through the process of data collection and hypothesis testing.
In today’s world, we all seek knowledge amidst data. Be it primary or secondary, data is the lifeline of good research. But, in research, we need a hypothesis to test. So we decided to go with the following null and alternate hypotheses.
H0 – People who need to share their work prefer working with online spreadsheet platforms.
H1– People who need to share their work do not prefer working with online spreadsheet platforms.
The next step would be data collection. With Zoho Survey, creating and sharing questionnaires is simple. With a few clicks, you can share your questionnaire to the desired sample and get your results.
Zoho Survey, being the handy tool it is, provides an option to view your results in Zoho Sheet. Here’s a portion of our results.
Now the job is to simply convert the strings into numbers, so analysis becomes easier. We used the formula “=IF(D3=”Almost everyday”;3;IF(D3=”Minimum once a week”;2;IF(D3=”Maximum once a week”;1;IF(D3=”I don’t use spreadsheets often.”;0))))” to make the strings numeric. The same was done to the sharing column and the cloud/desktop column as well.
The resulting columns looked something like this.
These are the columns that will help us run the regression. Make sure to color code the respective string and number columns. This is not just for the aesthetics of it, but will also help you keep track of the dependent and independent variables. Fortunately, Zoho Sheet’s features like “Fill Color” and “Format Painter” make this a simple affair.
Now that we have the hypothesis set, and the dependent (Cloud/desktop) and independent (Sharing) variables, a simple formula will help us test the hypothesis.
In this example, we’ve used two different approaches.
In the first approach, we measured the slope of the X and Y variables, and then we went ahead and found the simple regression coefficient for them. The functions used were “=SLOPE” and “=CORREL.” These formulas provide accurate results and save us valuable time.
The results of the tests turned out pretty good, so now it’s time for interpretation.
A positive correlation and slope meant that there was indeed a positive relationship between the two variables. Hence, we do not reject the null hypothesis. You can even decide to decipher down the result using an IF function. Like this one, where the formulas used were “=IF(D52>0;”A positive slope. This means, the variables are positively correlated.”;IF(D52<0;”A negative slope. This means the variables are negatively correlated”;”No correlation found”))” and “=IF(D53>0;”A positive coefficient. This indicates that there is a positive relationship between the variables”;IF(D53<0;”A negative coefficient. This indicates that there is a negative relationship between the variables”;”There is no correlation”))”. This can prevent misinterpretation and make your result even more accurate.
This is just one example of how Zoho Survey and Sheet can be used to enhance your research experience. Zoho Sheet also allows you to add people and collaborate with them, so you can always work along with your team. Imagine not having to mail every draft of your spreadsheet to your thesis guide. Bliss, right? Simply add your team and your guide as collaborators. And don’t sweat losing the data, as it’s always there in the cloud.
Here’s the embedded Sheet, in case you needed to take a look.
Keep asking the right questions and Zoho will keep helping you answer them.
Hi, zoho shet is a very powerfull product, but we need import range feature to be great!!
I like your zoho app but kindly improve on how to share the file on zoho to others with a lot of ease plz. it is alwayz hectic for me to share the file or downloading it to the desktop or computer documents. thanks
Hello Anderson, we are glad that you like our product. 1. Right now, we allow the owners of a spreadsheet to share the document to the collaborators by simply adding their e-mail ID in the "Share" dialogue box. Here's how. Share menu > Share > Add the email address of the person you intend to share your spreadsheet with. Enjoy working with your collaborators. 2. Zoho Sheet allows users to export their spreadsheets as Excel (.xlsx and .xls), HTML, PDF files and a lot more formats. Click the "File" menu, hover over the "Export" option, and you'll be able to see all the formats you can export your spreadsheet as. For any more queries, please feel free to write to us at support@zohosheet.com.
Hello..well explained in layman's terms but in what way is this product different from/better than an Excel spreadsheet (which is more commonly used right).
Hello Merryl. Thank you for taking the time to read through the blog, and for the compliments. With respect to the question, we differ from other spreadsheet applications in many different ways. A few features that are unique to us make collaborations easier. If you'd like to discuss in detail, please feel free to write to us your queries and suggestions at support@zohosheet.com
Greetings. First of all congratulations for the tool, Zoho Sheet is becoming a great option in the spreadsheet platform. In order to help, I suggest two features to be incorporated, if possible: 1. Lock a range of cells (sharing or distribute a sheet with a range of cells locked). 2. Improve the way of work with images (jpges, etc), after paste an image it is not available a variety of format options. Att and regards.
Hello! Thanks for taking your time to read through the blog and to share your comments. The lock cells option is already available, with a few limitations. You can always lock a cell, or a range of cells, or even a sheet while sharing it with your collaborators. Talking about publishing a spreadsheet, or making it public by generating an URL, there is an option to lock the cells with formulas in them. With respect to inserting images, Zoho Sheet provides you the option to insert images in both JPEG and in PNG. Images can be uploaded from computers to spreadsheets. On the other hand, there is also an option to save an image from the spreadsheet to your computer. In case of any other query or suggestion, please write to us at support@zohosheet.com.