Microsoft Access Data Analysis: Unleashing the Analytical Power of Access [Paperback]

Michael Alexander (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 076459978X | ISBN-13: 978-0764599781 | Publication Date: January 4, 2006 | Edition: 1

• Go beyond Excel(r) with Access's more powerful analysis capabilities
• Get better visibility into your data with custom views
• Scale up your data pool without limitation
• Master the four fundamentals of data analysis
• Discover shortcuts with the helpful Input Mask Wizard
• Integrate your data with the web and enterprise data sources
• Avoid the common pitfalls of data crunching
• Harness VBA to improve data analysis
• Leverage information from the field with real-world scenarios

Companion web site
See examples from this book firsthand, in our companion web site at www.wiley.com/go/accessdataanalysis. The site also includes templates and tools to get you started.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

• Go beyond Excel® with Access's more powerful analysis capabilities
• Get better visibility into your data with custom views
• Scale up your data pool without limitation
• Master the four fundamentals of data analysis
• Discover shortcuts with the helpful Input Mask Wizard
• Integrate your data with the web and enterprise data sources
• Avoid the common pitfalls of data crunching
• Harness VBA to improve data analysis
• Leverage information from the field with real-world scenarios

Companion web site

See examples from this book firsthand, in our companion web site at www.wiley.com/go/accessdataanalysis. The site also includes templates and tools to get you started.

About the Author

Michael Alexander is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) with more than 13 years experience consulting and developing office solutions. Michael started his career in consulting and development at the White House Communications Agency in Washington DC where he spearheaded the development of a standalone HRIS system for the White House’s Military Office. He parlayed his experience with VBA and VB into a successful consulting practice in the private sector, developing middleware and reporting solutions for a wide variety of industries. He currently lives in Plano, TX where he serves as the director of an analytical services department of a $700 million company. In his spare time, he runs a free tutorial site, www.datapig technologies.com, where he shares basic Access and Excel tips with intermediate users.

Product Details

• Paperback: 552 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076459978X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764599781
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Alexander is a Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) and author of 8 books on advanced business analysis with Microsoft Access and Excel. He has more than 14 years experience consulting and developing Office solutions. Michael has been named a Microsoft MVP for his ongoing contributions to the Excel community.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical number crunching with Access, March 23, 2006

By 

A. Quintero (PA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft Access Data Analysis: Unleashing the Analytical Power of Access (Paperback)

Many times have I been tasked to automate analysis with an application and I have always recommended Excel for doing anything with numbers and analyzing them. Doing anything like this with Access is usually a mystery and it takes a long time to put together until now. I was very skeptical since I have many Access books that do not go into detail about how to use Access in an analytical setting. The other books that I have just concentrate on programming, application developing or just simple that just teach you the basics of Access. This book puts it all together for you and even does a little VBA sampling so you can learn to use the analysis with an application you might already have.

I was extremely suprised at the way this book was composed with smart but simple step by step examples. The first few chapters saved me a ton of time after I learned many built-in functions for cleaning up data. The collection of functions in the appendix are a gold mine since these help you create expressions and also teach you by defining their meaning and use. After reading this book about a month ago I have been using Excel less and less to do my number crunching and reporting. I was a slave to the updating of cells, links,formulas and cleaning data that was given to me every week, month, and quarters. Now I just imported all my data to Access where I can analyze more data ,better and alot quicker than that other program.... I forget what that was, Oh yeah Excel.

You HAVE to get this book in your Access library if you do any work with data analysis and number crunching for financials or statistics. For all of you in any IT field like me that get told to "whip up" a program to crunch some statistics or financials.... this book will be the one to save your butt, it did it for me.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Microsoft Access has never been that helpful, January 18, 2006

By 

Hysam Galal (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Microsoft Access Data Analysis: Unleashing the Analytical Power of Access (Paperback)

I had many doubts this book would turn out like every other Microsoft Access book -- too much stress on Microsoft Access with much less to say about how to smartly use it. I was positively surprised. The book's focus on data analysis appplications like pivot tables and descriptive statistics made Access of much more use than I ever thought it would be.

I would strongly recommend buying this book. It has definitely changed the way I look at Microsoft Access.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you need to crunch numbers in Access, you need this book!, January 25, 2006

By 

Martin Green (London, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Microsoft Access Data Analysis: Unleashing the Analytical Power of Access (Paperback)

Michael Alexander has done an excellent job of exploding the myth that Access can't do data analysis. Most people see Excel as the place to analyse data but when it comes to large volumes of data or related data sets Excel struggles to cope. Access is a great tool for handling large or complex data sets, but it isn't the most intuitive program when it comes to making sense of your data. This is where this book really comes to the rescue. It offers a wealth of information and ideas on how to use Access' built-in analytical tools as well as building your own with the help of Access Macros, SQL and VBA. There is a useful and concise section on Access basics for those new to the program, so both new and existing Access users can benefit from the author's clear explanations and many practical examples. If you have reached the point when it's time to move your data from Excel into Access, or maybe you are already an Access user and you need some expert guidance, this book will provide the inspiration and guidance you need.