Course Name
Starter Data Analysis and Dashboards
Who is this course for?
This course is perfect for anyone who receives spreadsheets or reports at work, such as rotas, bookings, sales, or attendance, and spends time fixing them by hand every week. It is also a good next step if you have finished Data Basics with Excel.
Entry Requirements
You should have done Data Basics with Excel course, or already be able to sort, filter, and use the SUM formula in a spreadsheet.
What You Will Learn
By the end of the course you will be able to:
Spot common problems in data, such as mistakes, repeated rows, gaps, and names spelt in different ways.
Explain what tidy data looks like: one row for each record and one column for each piece of information.
Bring a CSV file (a simple spreadsheet file) or an Excel file into Power Query, and check that numbers, dates, and text are set up correctly.
Clean data with simple steps, such as removing repeated rows, trimming spaces, and splitting a column.
Save your steps as a recipe and reuse it whenever new data arrives.
Build a dashboard in Data Studio with headline numbers, charts, and a date filter.
Design a dashboard that is clear and easy for everyone to read.
Share a dashboard safely, and explain it to someone else in two minutes.
Course Aim
To show you how to clean messy data once, with steps you can reuse, and then share it as a simple online dashboard.
Course Length
15 hours, 5 weekly sessions of 3 hours on Monday mornings. Runs in February and March 2027.
What You Will Need to Bring
You do not need to bring anything. We provide the computers and a Google account.
How You Will Learn
We will teach you through short screen demonstrations, practical exercises, and friendly group discussions. Your tutor will show you each tool on screen first, then you will follow the same steps using a messy practice file. Across the course, you will build one data cleaning recipe and one dashboard by adding to them each week, and you will finish by explaining your completed dashboard to a partner.
How you will be assessed
There is no formal exam for this course. Your tutor will check your data cleaning recipe and your dashboard as you build them each week. At the end of the course, you will show your finished dashboard and give a short two minute talk to explain what the data tells you.
Where Next
This course is a great stepping stone towards further data skills and formal qualifications. After completing this course, you can move on to:
Data Project: Survey, Analyse and Present
First Steps with Python for Data
Later on, you could also work towards:
NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Data Analysis
NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Data Protection and Data Security
Will learners gain a qualification?
A Certificate of Completion only
