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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Basic Data Descriptors, Statistical Distributions, and Application to Business Decisions by Rice University

4.7
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2,587 ratings

About the Course

The ability to understand and apply Business Statistics is becoming increasingly important in the industry. A good understanding of Business Statistics is a requirement to make correct and relevant interpretations of data. Lack of knowledge could lead to erroneous decisions which could potentially have negative consequences for a firm. This course is designed to introduce you to Business Statistics. We begin with the notion of descriptive statistics, which is summarizing data using a few numbers. Different categories of descriptive measures are introduced and discussed along with the Excel functions to calculate them. The notion of probability or uncertainty is introduced along with the concept of a sample and population data using relevant business examples. This leads us to various statistical distributions along with their Excel functions which are then used to model or approximate business processes. You get to apply these descriptive measures of data and various statistical distributions using easy-to-follow Excel based examples which are demonstrated throughout the course. To successfully complete course assignments, students must have access to Microsoft Excel. ________________________________________ WEEK 1 Module 1: Basic Data Descriptors In this module you will get to understand, calculate and interpret various descriptive or summary measures of data. These descriptive measures summarize and present data using a few numbers. Appropriate Excel functions to do these calculations are introduced and demonstrated. Topics covered include: • Categories of descriptive data • Measures of central tendency, the mean, median, mode, and their interpretations and calculations • Measures of spread-in-data, the range, interquartile-range, standard deviation and variance • Box plots • Interpreting the standard deviation measure using the rule-of-thumb and Chebyshev’s theorem ________________________________________ WEEK 2 Module 2: Descriptive Measures of Association, Probability, and Statistical Distributions This module presents the covariance and correlation measures and their respective Excel functions. You get to understand the notion of causation versus correlation. The module then introduces the notion of probability and random variables and starts introducing statistical distributions. Topics covered include: • Measures of association, the covariance and correlation measures; causation versus correlation • Probability and random variables; discrete versus continuous data • Introduction to statistical distributions ________________________________________ WEEK 3 Module 3: The Normal Distribution This module introduces the Normal distribution and the Excel function to calculate probabilities and various outcomes from the distribution. Topics covered include: • Probability density function and area under the curve as a measure of probability • The Normal distribution (bell curve), NORM.DIST, NORM.INV functions in Excel ________________________________________ WEEK 4 Module 4: Working with Distributions, Normal, Binomial, Poisson In this module, you'll see various applications of the Normal distribution. You will also get introduced to the Binomial and Poisson distributions. The Central Limit Theorem is introduced and explained in the context of understanding sample data versus population data and the link between the two. Topics covered include: • Various applications of the Normal distribution • The Binomial and Poisson distributions • Sample versus population data; the Central Limit Theorem...

Top reviews

SA

Oct 18, 2021

The course was fun and easy to follow through and i liked that when encountered with problem there is a discussion forum where facilitators and fellow students helped in solving it.thank you professor

SN

Aug 21, 2021

T​his was a really enjoyable course, but challenging too. I struggled a bit with the final assignment, but nailed it in the end. My statistical knowledge base has indeed been enhanced by this course.

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126 - 150 of 424 Reviews for Basic Data Descriptors, Statistical Distributions, and Application to Business Decisions

By Klaus G

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Mar 13, 2019

Very clear explanation of basic statistical concepts with very well designed quizes and exercises.

By Nazmus S S

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Dec 21, 2018

Professor Sharod Borle is a fantastic professor. I learned a lot of new concepts from this course.

By Tom B

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Oct 9, 2017

Great Introduction course. Anybody looking to study statistics should first look at this course.

By Frank A

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Jul 19, 2021

Educative, engaging and a good fit for business leaders, MBA students and Finance professionals

By Rawson G H

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Aug 8, 2021

liked the way the course was structured and also liked that the pdf of the slides was provided

By Navdeep B

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Jun 29, 2020

This is a very good course for someone interested in learning statistics in a flawless manner.

By Shady N

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Nov 26, 2018

People with Statistics background will enjoy this course and the whole specialization as well.

By Malla H

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May 21, 2022

Overall excellent course with both conceptual and application point of view learning process

By Maxim V

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Apr 6, 2022

Basic but practical statistical skills for Excel. I never knew you can do so much in Excel.

By Suhas K

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Jun 1, 2019

Topics are taught in the best possible way with hands on experience in using them real time.

By Abhinav K

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Dec 23, 2016

Looking forward to more such courses on Statistics and Probability related to Data Science.

By Ashok M

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Nov 16, 2020

Simple illustrations and great teaching. The quiz at the end of each week is challenging.

By Doris K S H

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Aug 30, 2020

Excellent! The trainer makes the Statistics lessons easier to comprehend and interesting.

By Ethan O B

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Oct 11, 2017

An excellent programme well delivered - really useful skills to take into business world

By Diego F

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Jan 23, 2018

I learnt the basic of data analysis and making business decisions based on the results.

By Jonathan D A P

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Jul 14, 2020

Excellent course to learn a lot about statistics in Business! It's really recommended.

By SUHASINI A

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May 22, 2020

I was learned more things in this course,it is very helpful for gaining more knowledge

By 陳學穎

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Jun 16, 2018

Nice course,it's not too difficult but so essential for entry-level learner to get in.

By Pam B

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Jan 24, 2018

Good intro to probabilities and forecasting. Quizzes have been improved tremendously!

By Rishabh G

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Dec 9, 2017

Nice course. Please explain little more binomial distributor and poisson distribution.

By Mai Z

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Sep 24, 2017

The theory is well explained, and the pratices on examples help to understand deeper.

By Joaquin M D

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Oct 5, 2020

Good review for basic statistics concepts. Great for learning Excel for Stat as well

By Timothy L

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Nov 12, 2017

This teacher is the best! He is able to clearly explain complex, abstract concepts!

By Jaysing B

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Jul 9, 2020

Really enjoyed all the videos. Having awesome learning with this particular course.

By Dr. R S

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Sep 20, 2020

Very Nice Course for Understanding the three Important Probability distributions.