Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis in Public Health
Welcome to Introduction to Statistics & Data Analysis in Public Health!
This course will teach you the core building blocks of statistical analysis - types of variables, common distributions, hypothesis testing - but, more than that, it will enable you to take a data set you've never seen before, describe its keys features, get to know its strengths and quirks, run some vital basic analyses and then formulate and test hypotheses based on means and proportions. You'll then have a solid grounding to move on to more sophisticated analysis and take the other courses in the series. You'll learn the popular, flexible and completely free software R, used by statistics and machine learning practitioners everywhere. It's hands-on, so you'll first learn about how to phrase a testable hypothesis via examples of medical research as reported by the media. Then you'll work through a data set on fruit and vegetable eating habits: data that are realistically messy, because that's what public health data sets are like in reality. There will be mini-quizzes with feedback along the way to check your understanding. The course will sharpen your ability to think critically and not take things for granted: in this age of uncontrolled algorithms and fake news, these skills are more important than ever.
Prerequisites
Some formulae are given to aid understanding, but this is not one of those courses where you need a mathematics degree to follow it. You will need only basic numeracy (for example, we will not use calculus) and familiarity with graphical and tabular ways of presenting results. No knowledge of R or programming is assumed.
Status: Science and Research
Science and Research
Status: Data Analysis
Data Analysis
Beginner·Course·16 hours
Featured reviews
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 5, 2020
This course is great. I like how it is structured and the feedback after activities. Combines theory and practices in an efficient way. Congratulations.
5.0
·Reviewed Dec 19, 2020
this is an excellent course, but more examples are needed for clarity, in video formats. We want to see the instructor working out examples on board
5.0
·Reviewed Apr 18, 2020
Great introduction towards statistics in public health, with nice addition of R programming language. The material is meticulously explained and easy to understand.
5.0
·Reviewed May 4, 2025
GOod start to someone who has never used R or any statistical programming before. I've good understanding of stats butdid not learn R and this gives me enough confidence to do my analyses
4.0
·Reviewed Jun 29, 2020
Challenging but very informative. Sometimes I was not clear on the concept but usually there was a discussion a couple of clicks away which elucidated things,
5.0
·Reviewed Nov 2, 2021
This course is an excellent introduction to statistical analysis in public health. In addition, the course provides a useful start to the application of R in statistical analysis.
5.0
·Reviewed Aug 13, 2020
Excellent course with really good teaching. Felt like it developed a good grounding in the basic topics. Would recommend having a little R experience prior to taking this course.
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 1, 2020
An enjoyable course in Stats for complete beginners. It is a good mix of videos, exercises and quizes that kept my interest up. I shall go on to the next module in this course.
4.0
·Reviewed Apr 3, 2022
very helpful and usfule course in what concerns the research field in every scientific domain. thanks for Dr tarabay who introduced us to this course
4.0
·Reviewed Aug 16, 2019
Great course to start learning statistics in public health. I love the example data that are closely related to public health field. Thank you very much!
5.0
·Reviewed Dec 9, 2025
Excellent introductory course to statistics in public health with exposure to RStudio. Highly recommend to any clinician interested in public health studies who has an interest in data analysis.
5.0
·Reviewed May 25, 2019
Was a very nicely done and clear course to build or re-build foundation for most common statistical concepts and an intro to using R via R-Studio for your work with them on the basics.
All reviews
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G
Georgy
4.0
·Reviewed Jun 8, 2019
The course gives an introduction to basic statistics commonly used in medicine/public health. The key concepts are explained clearly and provide a good foundation. However, there are few lectures (mostly reading material) and many tests are "check yourself" ones. The course would benefit if current reading material was given in lectures (as it is mostly words) and the more advanced reading material was included with more formal/mathematical description of the concepts.
S
SALVATORE
2.0
·Reviewed Jun 12, 2020
This course started well, but when it had to dig into explaining statistical analysis or R codes it left the explanation to LOTS of reading material rather than videos. I could have just read a book of statistics rather than enrolling in this course.
F
Fatemeh
2.0
·Reviewed Apr 1, 2020
Not a very educational course all n all. Mostly for someone with previous knowledge on the matter.
L
Lindsy
2.0
·Reviewed Dec 10, 2019
I expected much more work on R plus barely any of the syntax worked on my Mac.
D
Dwayne
5.0
·Reviewed Jan 5, 2021
The instructor videos are amazing- very relatable, applicable, and comprehensible! The principles are simplified as best as possible. This courses also good if you are very new to R.
V
Vishakh
2.0
·Reviewed Sep 22, 2019
Could be way better. AP level statistics should be recommended before starting this course.
S
Sandeep
5.0
·Reviewed Oct 12, 2019
This is the best course among all I've taken..
The instructor has presented the content precisely.
I highly recommend to those who are looking to explore R in the field of health
I
Indhu
5.0
·Reviewed May 16, 2019
Learned a lot! The structure of the course was very logical and manageable. Will be continuing with the rest of the courses in the Specialization.
H
Han
5.0
·Reviewed Dec 5, 2019
I like this professor. His interesting teaching style is like Professor Attenborough you see on BBC Earth. He will bring up an issue and give you just enough information so that I can go about researching this on Google, Youtube, and other lectures on Coursera. He is good for professionals not liking a rigid educational format.
L
Liva
5.0
·Reviewed May 26, 2019
Was a very nicely done and clear course to build or re-build foundation for most common statistical concepts and an intro to using R via R-Studio for your work with them on the basics.
S
Sajith
5.0
·Reviewed Mar 15, 2020
Brilliant!! Simply brilliant. Alex is superb. You cant understand statistics better anywhere in the world other than this course. This is an essential course for anyone into clinical research or anyone doing their Phd's in Biological sciences or having an interest in science journalism. I urge all of you to take this course. This is more than an introduction to statistics.
Thanks Alex!! You are great at teaching& communicating statistics. Hope to meet up with you someday. Take care and I am going forward with the entire specialization.
R
Rashidul
5.0
·Reviewed May 5, 2019
I will definitely recommend anyone to undergo the materials provided from Imperial faculty to hone statistical reasoning skill and enhance problem solving capacity. Indeed a organized and effective course after a bit long time.
I
Ikenna
5.0
·Reviewed Dec 29, 2019
This course is amazing for candidates looking to gain a fundamental understanding of Public Health Research. The videos are very educative and the assignments are crucial to having a firm grasp of the topics that are taught.
S
Shubham
5.0
·Reviewed Jun 26, 2019
I found this data very interesting and useful learnt very new sets of skills and will carry on in this topic.
D
Dean
5.0
·Reviewed Jul 7, 2019
This was a great introduction. to statistics in public health. Thanks!
H
Hassan
5.0
·Reviewed Nov 15, 2021
I came from a background of medical science. I have grip over basic concepts of Statistics as well as some stat softwares for inferential stats. What I lacked was programming background. I wanted to learn R but was always afraid of R. This course made it all seem so easy and enjoyable that I learned it all in less than a month.
I have taken some other courses on Coursera, on Udemy too but all seemed too distant from what I required, ie R from biostat perspective and from scratch. This course provides you exactly. I liked this course so much that I have taken other specializations from Imperial as well and it made me interested in Imperial's MPH as well.
Thank you all the instructors, Dr.Bottle and the team for designing such an amazing coursework in such a way that it motivates you itself to reach higher and make another milestone. And for making such a difficult coursework so much easier for a person from non-mathematical background, And thank you coursera for bringing all of this to us. I remain indebted to all of you for granting me this skill.
L
Luis
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 1, 2019
This course has a great content. R programming is a excellent tool for analyze data in public health. Each one of the videos is excellent to understand the conceptual framework and eventually apply those knowledges in R language.
N
Neelam
5.0
·Reviewed Sep 29, 2019
Fantastic resource for novices and people with bit more statistical experience (like myself). Really enjoyable and moves at a really good pace. I learnt a lot and was able to refine my statistical skills
C
Cornelius
5.0
·Reviewed Nov 3, 2021
This course is an excellent introduction to statistical analysis in public health. In addition, the course provides a useful start to the application of R in statistical analysis.
R
Rebecca
5.0
·Reviewed Aug 14, 2020
Excellent course with really good teaching. Felt like it developed a good grounding in the basic topics. Would recommend having a little R experience prior to taking this course.
