Microsoft Excel add-in for the statistical analysis of contingency tables

Abstract

This paper introduces “Contingency table analysis”, a freely available menu-driven add-in program for Microsoft EXCEL, written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), for basic univariate and bivariate statistical analyses of contingency tables. The program provides modules for the statistical analysis of proportions, 2 × 2 tables, stratified 2 × 2 tables, and R × C tables. We compare the results of the analyses performed using our software with those obtained by commercially available statistical software. The comparison shows that our software performs equally well. The use of the add-in facilitates the convenient prosecution of basic statistical analyses on contingency tables from within EXCEL, sparing us the additional cost, or the inconvenience of alternating between multiple platforms, often incurred in using a commercial statistical package.