Errors in the use of spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel could pose risks for science. That's according to a preprint posted on arXiv from Ghada AlTarawneh and Simon Thorne of Cardiff Metropolitan University. AlTarawneh and Thorne conducted a survey of 17 researchers from the University of Newcastle neuroscience research centre, ranging from PhD students to senior researchers. None of the respondants had any formal, certified training in spreadsheet use, with most (71%) being self-taught. Despite this, the majority of the researchers rated themselves as "intermediate" users of Excel. Worryingly, only 20% reported that they had their spreadsheets checked for errors by colleagues ('peer reviewed'). Most said they did all the testing themselves, or even that they did none at all.
As AlTarawneh and Thorne comment, these results raise the possibility that researchers may have a tendency towards overconfidence in their use of spreadsheets:
Superficially, spreadsheets seem to be simple and ...
