Learner Reviews & Feedback for Basic Data Descriptors, Statistical Distributions, and Application to Business Decisions by Rice University
4.7
stars
2,081 ratings
•
347 reviews
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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
SN
Aug 20, 2021
This 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.
EM
Aug 26, 2020
This is one of the best courses i have atended since, the exercises are all related to the topic.Great job. .\n\nThanks to Mr Sharad Borle for explaining very well the content in this course .
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251 - 275 of 347 Reviews for Basic Data Descriptors, Statistical Distributions, and Application to Business Decisions
By Jesse M
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May 2, 2020
cool teacher
By Aryaman R
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Jul 25, 2021
Good course
By Gabriel A F G
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Sep 20, 2020
Buen curso.
By Muhammad L b Y
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Jun 23, 2020
Challenging
By Chirag S
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Apr 2, 2018
Nice course
By enrique a r
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Feb 7, 2019
fantastic!
By Gregory R G J
•
Nov 20, 2018
Thumbs Up!
By ABHISHEK K
•
Feb 18, 2021
Excellent
By Deep S
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Aug 29, 2020
Excellent
By Hari S
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Jul 5, 2020
great....
By Umasankar D
•
May 6, 2020
EXCELLENT
By Anurag T
•
Jun 25, 2020
Amazing
By Mr A D
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Aug 30, 2021
great!
By DEEKSHA Y
•
Aug 27, 2021
ercfe
By Prof S S G
•
Jul 31, 2020
Superb
By Sun
•
Feb 17, 2018
Easy!
By Navoda M K
•
Jul 21, 2020
good
By Ruchi M
•
May 7, 2020
good
By jittu s
•
Mar 17, 2019
good
By Penny W
•
Aug 17, 2018
good
By Ren P
•
Apr 18, 2017
Good
By Garima J
•
Aug 29, 2021
By Luping L
•
Feb 15, 2017
c
By Tim S
•
Nov 20, 2016
a
By Colin P
•
Apr 10, 2018
Good intro or refresher on how to apply apply basic statistical concepts to business problems. I can immediately apply the Poisson distribution to gain further insights at my current job. I thought the material was well presented by the speaker: spoke slowly, clearly, and didn't try to cover too much dense info. in each video segment. The quizes were a little bit of a stretch, from what was presented in the videos, but still relevant.
