Statistical Thinking

Explore how statistical evidence influences real-world judgements. Investigate the ways in which statisticians get to know and understand data, how they summarise data and communicate its relevance to a modern audience.

About this course

This is a free, self-paced online course.

Are you wanting to build a career in marketing, data analytics or risk management? Would you like to improve your quantitative analytical skills to progress in your chosen career? Statistical thinking and technical expertise are some of the essential skills used in these areas.

Statistical arguments that are grounded in real-world data are becoming the modern foundation of policy and planning, as much in the private sector as in the public domain.

This course will help you become accustomed with how statisticians think and analyse data. It will explore questions that can arise when considering health planning, economic policy and climate monitoring.

Course structure

Data tells us about real-world phenomena. Good data has the capacity to tell a compelling story, if properly analysed. This course will walk you through:

Developing insights into the story that a dataset has to tell
Basic tools for analysing data in order to understand its story.

During this course, we will:

Explore different statistical data types and basic summary statistics relevant to each type
Introduce some issues that arise when using statistical models to explain real-world data
Rely on a variety of real-world questions and data sets to illustrate and motivate our statistical development.

Learning outcomes

This taster course will provide an opportunity for participants to engage with the following learning outcomes:

Develop familiarity with key concepts of statistical thinking
Develop an understanding of some basic statistical tools and techniques.

Participant requirements and equipment

In order to complete this online course, you will need access to a personal computer with reliable internet access and an operating system with a web browser compatible with the UTS Canvas LMS.

Who is this course for?

This introductory taster course is suitable for, but not limited to, people seeking entry into professions such as:

Marketing
Public policy, including healthcare and social planning
Business and public administration
Science
Risk management.

Meet the experts

Professor Louise Ryan FAA

Distinguished Professor (Course consultant)

Louise is an Australian biostatistician, a Distinguished Professor of Statistics in the School of Mathematical Sciences at UTS, President-elect of the International Biometric Society and an editor-in-chief of the journal, Statistics in Medicine.

More Less

Dr Tim Langtry

Honorary Associate Professor (Course designer)

Tim is an applied mathematician whose main research interests include numerical analysis and computational mathematics. He is a former Head of Mathematics and Statistics at UTS and is now an Honorary Associate Professor of the university.

More Less

Dr Mary Coupland

Associate Professor, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Mary lectures first year mathematics and quantitative literacy. She also co-ordinates a Masters degree for teachers who want to learn more mathematics to qualify to be teachers of mathematics. Teams led by Mary have won teaching citations at university and at national levels, and she has been awarded a personal citation for excellence in teaching mathematics at UTS.

Mary is passionate about encouraging teachers to contribute to their profession and she is an honorary life member of the Mathematical Association of NSW, the state professional association for teachers of mathematics at all levels. She was President of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers from 2014 – May 2016 and is a member of the professional body for mathematicians, the Australian Mathematical Society. For her work with professional teachers associations she was awarded the Outstanding Professional Service Award by the Professional Teachers Council, NSW, in 2012.

More Less

Related Courses

Taster Course

Modern Slavery in the Home

Build your expertise around identifying and responding to modern slavery within Australian household contexts.

Start anytime
Self paced
Free
Online
Online

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building

Taster Course

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building

Explore new interdisciplinary research and collaborations around emerging technologies and human rights.

Start anytime
Self paced
Free
Online
Online

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach

Taster Course

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Considering Human Rights within Emerging Technologies.

Start anytime
Self paced
Free
Online
Online

Taster Course