A session logbook for a longitudinal study using conditional formatting in Excel

Longitudinal studies consist of several sessions, and often involve session session conductors. To facilitate the planning, registration and tracking of sessions, a session logbook becomes even more necessary than usual. To this end, an Excel workbook with conditional formatting can help automatise some formats and visualise the progress.

Below is an example that is available on OneDrive. To fully access this workbook, it may be downloaded via File > Save as > Download a copy. Alternatively, the workbook can be exported to one’s own account on OneDrive.

The conditional formats include:

• fill in blanks in columns A, C or D to remove the background

• fill in blanks in F and G, or I and J, or L and M, etc, to highlight the entire session in green

• fill in any notes columns to highlight them in red

These conditional formats can be consulted (and edited) from the Home tab by opening Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules. At the top, the option This Worksheet should be selected to view all formulas.