How do you find outliers in Excel? - Answers

Excel does not have built in functions for outlier identification. However, if you want to identify quickly data that is in the very low or high range, then use the sort routine in Excel. You can make a scatter plot to identify points distant from the normal scattering. I've also included a related link, which shows some tests of outliers, which can be implemented using the functions in Excel. The Chauvenet's criteria involves use of normal distribution, available in Excel, to identify the probability of data points. An outlier is not necessarily an erroneous number. See related link. It is just a number that is distant from others the set. However, if there is some physical limit on your data, then you might want to screen for numbers beyond this limit. For example, you are measuring heights of men, so you will want to screen you data for heights too big or too small as possible data errors. Certainly, if you find a 600 ft person, you know that this outlier was an error, like forgetting a decimal point.