Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization

This course presents a gentle introduction into the concepts of data analysis, the role of a Data Analyst, and the tools that are used to perform daily functions. You will gain an understanding of the data ecosystem and the fundamentals of data analysis, such as data gathering or data mining. You will then learn the soft skills that are required to effectively communicate your data to stakeholders, and how mastering these skills can give you the option to become a data driven decision maker.

This course will help you to differentiate between the roles of a Data Analyst, Data Scientist, and Data Engineer. You will learn the responsibilities of a Data Analyst and exactly what data analysis entails. You will be able to summarize the data ecosystem, such as databases and data warehouses. You will then uncover the major vendors within the data ecosystem and explore the various tools on-premise and in the cloud. Continue this exciting journey and discover Big Data platforms such as Hadoop, Hive, and Spark. By the end of this course you will be able to visualize the daily life of a Data Analyst, understand the different career paths that are available for data analytics, and identify the many resources available for mastering this profession. Throughout this course you will learn the key aspects to data analysis. You will begin to explore the fundamentals of gathering data, and learning how to identify your data sources. You will then learn how to clean, analyze, and share your data 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, explore what it means to be a Data Analyst, and provide a real-world scenario of data analysis. This course does not require any prior data analysis, spreadsheet, or computer science experience. All you need to get started is basic computer literacy, high school level math, and access to a modern web browser such as Chrome or Firefox.

This course is designed to provide you with basic working knowledge for using Excel spreadsheets for Data Analysis. It covers some of the first steps for working with spreadsheets and their usage in the process of analyzing data. It includes plenty of videos, demos, and examples for you to learn, followed by step-by-step instructions for you to apply and practice on a live spreadsheet.

Excel is an essential tool for working with data - whether for business, marketing, data analytics, or research. This course is suitable for those aspiring to take up Data Analysis or Data Science as a profession, as well as those who just want to use Excel for data analysis in their own domains. You will gain valuable experience in cleansing and wrangling data using functions and then analyze your data using techniques like filtering, sorting and creating pivot tables. This course starts with an introduction to spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets and loading data from multiple formats. With this introduction you will then learn to perform some basic level data wrangling and cleansing tasks and continue to expand your knowledge of analyzing data through the use of filtering, sorting, and using pivot tables within the spreadsheet. By performing these tasks throughout the course, it will give you an understanding of how spreadsheets can be used as a data analysis tool and understand its limitations. There is a strong focus on practice and applied learning in this course. With each lab, you will gain hands-on experience in manipulating data and begin to understand the important role of spreadsheets. Clean and analyze your data faster by understanding functions in the formatting of data. You will then convert your data to a pivot table and learn its features to make your data organized and readable. The final project enables you to show off your newly acquired data analysis skills. By the end of this course you will have worked with several data sets and spreadsheets and demonstrated the basics of cleaning and analyzing data all without having to learn any code. Getting started with Excel is made easy in this course. It does not require any prior experience with spreadsheets or coding. Nor does it require downloads or installation of any software. All you need is a device with a modern web browser, and ability to create a Microsoft account to access Excel online at no-cost. However if you already have a desktop version of Excel, you can follow along quite easily as well.

This course covers some of the first steps in the development of data visualizations using spreadsheets and dashboards. Begin the process of telling a story with your data by creating the many types of charts that are available in spreadsheets like Excel. Explore the different tools of a spreadsheet, such as the important pivot function and the ability to create dashboards and learn how each one has its own unique property to transform your data. Continue to gain valuable experience by becoming familiar with the popular analytics tool - IBM Cognos Analytics - to create interactive dashboards.

By completing this course, you will have a basic understanding of using spreadsheets as a data visualization tool. You will gain the ability to effectively create data visualizations, such as charts or graphs, and will begin to see how they play a key role in communicating your data analysis findings. All of this can be accomplished by learning the basics of data analysis with Excel and IBM Cognos Analytics, without having to write any code. By the end of this course you will be able to describe common dashboarding tools used by a data analyst, design and create a dashboard in a cloud platform, and begin to elevate your confidence level in creating intermediate level data visualizations. Throughout this course you will encounter numerous hands-on labs and a final project. With each lab, gain hands-on experience with creating basic and advanced charts, then continue through the course and begin creating dashboards with spreadsheets and IBM Cognos Analytics. You will then end this course by creating a set of data visualizations with IBM Cognos Analytics and creating an interactive dashboard that can be shared with peers, professional communities or prospective employers. This course does not require any prior data analysis, or computer science experience. All you need to get started is basic computer literacy, high school level math, access to a modern web browser such as Chrome or Firefox, the ability to create a Microsoft account to access Excel for the Web, and a basic understanding of Excel spreadsheets.