You know the famous proverb: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." It's especially true when you're casting your line for statistics.

When I first started using Minitab Statistical Software, it was daunting trying to learn all of its analysis capabilities. There are hundreds of commands in the Stat menu alone. Eventually, I found that working through an example using a sample data set was the easiest way for me to quickly get a handle on an analysis. Because if you're a concrete thinker like me, you like your example served first, and your explanation served afterwards. It's much easier on the brain's digestion.

How to access sample data sets

You can quickly familiarize yourself with any statistical analysis in Minitab by taking advantage of the more than 150 sample data sets included with the software. To access the sample data sets, choose File > Open Worksheet. Then click Look in Minitab Sample Data folder.

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