Despite their popularity, spreadsheets may not be well suited for analysis. This paper explores why, and describes a better alternative.

Spreadsheets are widely used for statistical analysis; and while they are incredibly useful tools, they are useful only to a certain point. When used for a task they’re not designed to perform, or for a task at or beyond the limit of their capabilities, spreadsheets can be somewhat risky. This paper presents some points you should consider if
you use, or plan to use, a spreadsheet to perform statistical analysis. It also describes an alternative that in many cases will be more suitable.