Simplified Curve Fitting using Spreadsheet Add-ins

This paper describes how the Solver function contained within the Microsoft Excel (R) spreadsheet package, can be readily employed to create a simple functional solution to the problem of generalised curve fitting. The method is illustrated with two worked examples. The approach suggested is simple to understand and apply, and only requires that any proposed model can be described using the standard mathematical and statistical functions contained within Excel. The method is thus capable of fitting a wide range of different models and, because of the simplicity of the solution approach, can be readily applied to evaluate the 'comparative goodness of fit' of several different models.