Get ahead w/ Data Analysis & Visualization skills. Enhance your career by learning to analyze data using Excel spreadsheets, and create stunning visualizations and interactive dashboards with Cognos.

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Earns credits toward the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree
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Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations SpecializationIBM Skills Network

What you will learn

Describe the data ecosystem, tasks a Data Analyst performs, as well as skills and tools required for successful data analysis
Explain basic functionality of spreadsheets and utilize Excel to perform a variety of data analysis tasks like data wrangling and data mining
List various types of charts and plots and create them in Excel as well as work with Cognos Analytics to generate interactive dashboards
Explain what Data Analytics is and the key steps in the Data Analytics process

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

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Deriving insights from data and communicating findings has become an increasingly important part of virtually every profession. This Specialization prepares you for this data-driven transformation by teaching you the core principles of data analysis and visualization and by giving you the tools and hands-on practice to communicate the results of your data discoveries effectively. You will be introduced to the modern data ecosystem. You will learn the skills required to successfully start data analysis tasks by becoming familiar with spreadsheets like Excel. You will examine different data sets, load them into the spreadsheet, and employ techniques like summarization, sorting, filtering, & creating pivot tables. Creating stunning visualizations is a critical part of communicating your data analysis results. You will use Excel spreadsheets to create the many different types of data visualizations such as line plots, bar charts, pie charts. You will also create advanced visualizations such as treemaps, scatter charts & map charts. You will then build interactive dashboards. This Specialization is designed for learners interested in starting a career in the field of Data or Business Analytics, as well as those in other professions, who need basic data analysis and visualization skills to supplement their primary job tasks. This program is ACE® recommended—when you complete, you can earn up to 9 college credits.

Applied Learning Project

Build your data analytics portfolio as you gain practical experience from producing artifacts in the interactive labs and projects throughout this program. Each course has a culminating project to apply your newfound skills:

In the first course, create visualizations to detect fraud by analyzing credit card data.
In the second course, import, clean, and analyze fleet vehicle inventory with Excel pivot tables.
In the third course, use car sales key performance indicator (KPI) data to create an interactive dashboard with stunning visualizations using Excel and IBM Cognos Analytics.

Only a modern web browser is required to complete these practical exercises and projects — no need to download or install anything on your device.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Introduction to Data Analytics

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10,663 ratings

Ready to start a career in Data Analysis but don’t know where to begin? This course presents you with a gentle introduction to Data Analysis, the role of a Data Analyst, and the tools used in this job. You will learn about the skills and responsibilities of a data analyst and hear from several data experts sharing their tips & advice to start a career. This course will help you to differentiate between the roles of Data Analysts, Data Scientists, and Data Engineers.

You will familiarize yourself with the data ecosystem, alongside Databases, Data Warehouses, Data Marts, Data Lakes and Data Pipelines. Continue this exciting journey and discover Big Data platforms such as Hadoop, Hive, and Spark. By the end of this course you’ll be able to understand the fundamentals of the data analysis process including gathering, cleaning, analyzing and sharing data and communicating your insights with the use of visualizations and dashboard tools. This all comes together in the final project where it will test your knowledge of the course material, and provide a real-world scenario of data analysis tasks. This course does not require any prior data analysis, spreadsheet, or computer science experience.

Course2

Course 2

Excel Basics for Data Analysis

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stars

5,233 ratings

Spreadsheet tools like Excel are an essential tool for working with data - whether for data analytics, business, marketing, or research. This course is designed to give you a basic working knowledge of Excel and how to use it for analyzing data.

This course is suitable for those who are interested in pursuing a career in data analysis or data science, as well as anyone looking to use Excel for data analysis in their own domain. No prior experience with spreadsheets or coding is required - all you need is a device with a modern web browser and the ability to create a Microsoft account to access Excel online at no cost. If you have a desktop version of Excel, you can also easily follow along with the course. Throughout this course, you'll gain valuable experience working with data sets and spreadsheets. We'll start by introducing you to spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, and show you how to load data from multiple formats. From there, you'll learn how to perform basic data wrangling and cleansing tasks using functions, and expand your knowledge of data analysis through the use of filtering, sorting, and pivot tables. There is a strong focus on practice and applied learning in this course. With each lab, you'll have the opportunity to manipulate data and gain hands-on experience using Excel. You'll learn how to clean and format your data efficiently, and convert it into a pivot table to make it more organized and readable. The final project will allow you to showcase your newly acquired data analysis skills by working with real data sets and spreadsheets. By the end of this course, you'll have a solid foundation in using Excel for data analysis. You'll have worked with multiple data sets and spreadsheets, and will have the skills and knowledge needed to effectively clean and analyze data without having to learn any code. So let's get started!

Course3

Course 3

Data Visualization and Dashboards with Excel and Cognos

4.7

stars

2,529 ratings

Learn how to create data visualizations and dashboards using spreadsheets and analytics tools. This course covers some of the first steps for telling a compelling story with your data using various types of charts and graphs. You'll learn the basics of visualizing data with Excel and IBM Cognos Analytics without having to write any code.

You'll start by creating simple charts in Excel such as line, pie and bar charts. You will then create more advanced visualizations with Treemaps, Scatter Charts, Histograms, Filled Map Charts, and Sparklines. Next you’ll also work with the Excel PivotChart feature as well as assemble several visualizations in an Excel dashboard. This course also teaches you how to use business intelligence (BI) tools like Cognos Analytics to create interactive dashboards. By the end of the course you will have an appreciation for the key role that data visualizations play in communicating your data analysis findings, and the ability to effectively create them. Throughout this course there will be numerous hands-on labs to help you develop practical experience for working with Excel and Cognos. There is also a final project in which you’ll create a set of data visualizations and an interactive dashboard to add to your portfolio, which you can share with peers, professional communities or prospective employers.

Course4

Course 4

Assessment for Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations

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stars

110 ratings

This is the final course in the Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization. It contains a graded final examination covering content from three courses: Introduction to Data Analytics, Excel Basics for Data Analysis, and Data Visualization and Dashboards with Excel and Cognos.

From the Introduction to Data Analytics course, you will be assessed on your knowledge of topics such as the data ecosystem and the fundamentals of data analysis, including data gathering and data mining tools. From the Excel Basics for Data Analysis course, you should be prepared to answer test items on topics like how Excel spreadsheets are used in data analytics, cleansing and wrangling data, as well as pivot tables. Finally, from the Data Visualization and Dashboards with Excel and Cognos course, you will demonstrate your knowledge on topics such as the basics of IBM Cognos and using Excel for data visualization.

Instructors

Offered by

IBM Skills Network

IBM is the global leader in business transformation through an open hybrid cloud platform and AI, serving clients in more than 170 countries around the world. Today 47 of the Fortune 50 Companies rely on the IBM Cloud to run their business, and IBM Watson enterprise AI is hard at work in more than 30,000 engagements. IBM is also one of the world’s most vital corporate research organizations, with 28 consecutive years of patent leadership. Above all, guided by principles for trust and transparency and support for a more inclusive society, IBM is committed to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

Start working towards your Bachelor's degree

When you complete this specialization, you'll earn college credits toward the 100% online Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from IBM Skills Network when you're accepted into the program.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
This Specialization doesn't carry university credit, but some universities may choose to accept Specialization Certificates for credit. Check with your institution to learn more.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
Completing this specialization requires 30-36 hours of effort. Working 10-12 hours a week, it can be complete in about a month. Or if working 3-4 hours per week, it would take 2-3 months to complete.
What background knowledge is necessary?
This program does not pre-req any prior programming or statistical skills, and is suitable for learners with or without college degrees. All you need to get started is basic computer literacy, high school math, comfort working with numbers, willingness to self-learn online, and the desire to enrich your profile with valuable skills.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
Yes, it is strongly recommended to take the courses in the order suggested as the courses build upon the concepts in the previous courses.
Can I get college credit for taking the IBM Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization?
Yes. The IBM Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization recently secured a credit recommendation from the American Council on Education's (ACE) Credit Recommendation, which is the industry standard for translating workplace learning to college credit. Learners can earn a recommendation of 9 college credits for completing the program. This aims to help open up additional pathways to learners who are interested in higher education and prepare them for entry-level jobs.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
After completing this professional certificate, you will be able to
Describe the data ecosystem, tasks a Data Analyst performs, as well as skills and tools required to become a successful Data Analyst
Explain basic functionality of spreadsheets, and utilize Excel to perform a variety of data analysis tasks like data wrangling and data mining
List various types of charts and plots and create them in Excel as well as work with Cognos Analytics to generate dashboards
Who can benefit by completing this Specialization?
This specialization caters to the needs of learners interested in developing foundational knowledge in Data Analysis without programming. This includes those who are interested in starting a career in the field of Data or Business Analytics, as well as those in other professions, such as marketing & sales personnel, executives, managers, researchers, citizen journalists, bloggers, and students who need basic data analysis and visualization skills to supplement their primary job tasks.
How do you share your proof of completion with the educational institutions for transferring credit?
To share proof of completion with schools, certificate graduates will receive an email prompting them to claim their Credlybadge, which contains the ACE®️credit recommendation. Once claimed, you will receive a competency-based transcript that signifies the credit recommendation, which can be shared directly with a school from the Credly platform. Please note that the decision to accept specific credit recommendations is up to each institution and is not guaranteed.
Where can I find more information on ACE credit recommendations?
Please see Coursera’s ACE Recommendations FAQ.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

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Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization

What you will learn

Skills you will gain

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project