In statistics, "normalization" refers to the transformation of arbitrary data into a standard distribution, typically a normal distribution with a mean of 0 and variance of 1. Normalizing your data allows you to compare the effects of different factors in your business without regard to scale: the highs are high and the lows are low. In Microsoft Excel, normalization involves a few simple calculations.
Using the STANDARDIZE Function
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Step 1
Open an existing spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel containing the data you wish to normalize.
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Step 2
Select an empty cell and label it "Data Mean." Enter "=AVERAGE(A1:A100)" and replace "A1:A100" with the range of the data you wish to normalize.
Step 3
Select another empty cell and label it "Data Standard Deviation." Enter "=STDEV(A1:A100)" and replace "A1:A100" with the range of the data you wish to normalize.
Step 4
Select an empty column and label it "Normalized Data." Enter ="STANDARDIZE(A1:A100,B1,C1)". Replace "A1:A100" with the range of the data you wish to normalize, "B1" with the cell containing the data mean and "C1" with the cell containing the data standard deviation.