Excel Formula for Looking Up a Value and Assigning a Score

Objective

To create an Excel formula that searches for a specific value in a table and returns an associated score based on that value.

Formula Construction

The VLOOKUP function in Excel is ideal for this task. It searches for a value in the first column of a specified table and returns a corresponding value from a user-defined column.

Formula Syntax

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])

Parameters

• lookup_value: The value you want to search for (e.g., the name or identifier).
• table_array: The range of cells that contains the data. This should include both the lookup column and the column of scores.
• col_index_num: The column number, within the table array, from which to retrieve the score (e.g., if scores are in the second column, this would be 2).
• [range_lookup]: An optional parameter that specifies whether you want an exact match (FALSE) or an approximate match (TRUE). For assigning scores, FALSE is preferred.

Example Application

Scenario

Assume you have a table in the range A2:B5 where:

• Column A contains different names (identifier) such as "Alice", "Bob", etc.
• Column B contains corresponding scores (e.g., 50, 75, 100).

Sample Data

Example Formula

If you want to find the score for "Bob", the formula would be:

=VLOOKUP("Bob", A2:B5, 2, FALSE)

Explanation of the Formula

• "Bob": This is the value we are looking to find in the first column of our specified table.
• A2:B5: This is the range containing the names and scores from which the formula will search and retrieve data.
• 2: This indicates that the score is located in the second column of the specified range.
• FALSE: This indicates that we are looking for an exact match for "Bob".

Result

The formula will return 92, which is Bob's score according to the defined table.

Conclusion

This approach using the VLOOKUP function effectively allows users to lookup a value in a table and retrieve associated scores. For further mastery of Excel functions and data analysis, consider exploring courses offered by the Enterprise DNA Platform.