Talk:Running average

I was hoping to find a spreadsheet example or discussion or anything that would help me to create a running average, NOT a moving average. I am not interested in smoothing statistical data and the re-direct was not at all helpful. A running total is the total up to that point (could be automatically calculated in a spreadsheet), therefore a running average I would believe, is the average of a series of numbers up to the current end of the series.

I would be interested in knowing how to enter the formula(s) to create a running average using Open Office Calc. I can succeed at using the average function for a fixed series but not a dynamic current average (recalculated after the most recent addition to the series). 66.41.165.38 02:53, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

I have since discovered through lengthy trial and error, that this can be accomplished but it is not as elegant as I had hoped. One way is to create another column which is an index (effectively the quantity of numbers being averaged). This column may/should be hidden. Then it is possible to use a formula that is a summation divided by the current index value. Suppose column A is gross pay, column B is average gross pay, and column C is the index. The formula for each row in column B is then =(SUM($A$1:A1))/B1

When the cell is copied to the row(s) below, A1 and B1 change but $A$1 does not, such as =(SUM($A$1:A2))/B2 for row 2, or =(SUM($A$1:A3))/B3 for row 3. Hopefully this will help someone else who is new to spreadsheets or Open Office Calc. 66.41.165.38 (talk) 01:03, 26 March 2008 (UTC)