Syntax. DAVERAGE(database,field,criteria)
Definition. This function returns the arithmetic mean for the values in a list or database column that match the specified conditions.
Arguments
database (required) The cell range that makes up the list or database
field (optional) Indicates which column is used in the function
criteria (required) The cell range containing the field names and the filter criteria
Background. The arithmetic mean is the best known mean value. Because it can easily be calculated, it plays an important role in summarizing and analyzing data.
To calculate the mean, the values in a range are added and the sum is divided by the number of values.
See Also
You will find more information about the mean in the description of AVERAGE() in Chapter 12.
Use the DAVERAGE() function to calculate the mean for selected database records.
Example. It is the end of the year and you want to analyze the sales. More specifically, you want to look at the average sales of products within different countries. You can use the DAVERAGE() function to calculate these values.
To calculate the average sales for Chang in the United States, you specify the country/region USA and the item name Chang. Because you want to know the average sales, you use Sales as the database field. DAVERAGE() returns $1,522.85 (see Figure 13-5).
You also want to calculate the overall average sales for Chang. To calculate the average sales for Chang in all countries and regions, don’t specify the country/region as a search criterion. This means that all countries and regions are included in the calculation. DAVERGAGE() returns $1,560.02 as the average sales order value (see Figure 13-6).
By using the DGET() function, you can compare the average sales for products in different countries.