Improving your statistical inferences (Coursera)

Improving your statistical inferences (Coursera)

This course aims to help you to draw better statistical inferences from empirical research. First, we will discuss how to correctly interpret p-values, effect sizes, confidence intervals, Bayes Factors, and likelihood ratios, and how these statistics answer different questions you might be interested in. Then, you will learn how to design experiments where the false positive rate is controlled, and how to decide upon the sample size for your study, for example in order to achieve high statistical power.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Subsequently, you will learn how to interpret evidence in the scientific literature given widespread publication bias, for example by learning about p-curve analysis. Finally, we will talk about how to do philosophy of science, theory construction, and cumulative science, including how to perform replication studies, why and how to pre-register your experiment, and how to share your results following Open Science principles.
In practical, hands on assignments, you will learn how to simulate t-tests to learn which p-values you can expect, calculate likelihood ratio's and get an introduction the binomial Bayesian statistics, and learn about the positive predictive value which expresses the probability published research findings are true. We will experience the problems with optional stopping and learn how to prevent these problems by using sequential analyses. You will calculate effect sizes, see how confidence intervals work through simulations, and practice doing a-priori power analyses. Finally, you will learn how to examine whether the null hypothesis is true using equivalence testing and Bayesian statistics, and how to pre-register a study, and share your data on the Open Science Framework.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction + Frequentist Statistics
Week 2: Likelihoods & Bayesian Statistics
Week 3: Multiple Comparisons, Statistical Power, Pre-Registration
Week 4: Effect Sizes
Week 5: Confidence Intervals, Sample Size Justification, P-Curve analysis
Week 6: Philosophy of Science & Theory
Week 7: Open Science
Week 8: Final Exam

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Hypothesis Testing in Public Health (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Hypothesis Testing in Public Health (Coursera)

Biostatistics is an essential skill for every public health researcher because it provides a set of precise methods for extracting meaningful conclusions from data. In this second course of the Biostatistics in Public Health Specialization, you'll learn to evaluate sample variability and apply statistical hypothesis testing methods.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
Mathematics for Machine Learning: PCA (Coursera) Coursera
Imperial College London

Mathematics for Machine Learning: PCA (Coursera)

This intermediate-level course introduces the mathematical foundations to derive Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a fundamental dimensionality reduction technique. We'll cover some basic statistics of data sets, such as mean values and variances, we'll compute distances and angles between vectors using inner products and derive orthogonal projections of data onto lower-dimensional subspaces. Using all these tools, we'll then derive PCA as a method that minimizes the average squared reconstruction error between data points and their reconstruction.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
Business intelligence and data analytics: Generate insights (Coursera) Coursera
Macquarie University

Business intelligence and data analytics: Generate insights (Coursera)

‘Megatrends’ heavily influence today’s organisations, industries and societies, and your ability to generate insights in this area is crucial to your organisation’s success into the future. This course will introduce you to analytical tools and skills you can use to understand, analyse and evaluate the challenges and opportunities ‘megatrends’ will inevitably bring to your organisation.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Python and Statistics for Financial Analysis (Coursera) Coursera
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST

Python and Statistics for Financial Analysis (Coursera)

Python is now becoming the number 1 programming language for data science. Due to python’s simplicity and high readability, it is gaining its importance in the financial industry. The course combines both python coding and statistical concepts and applies into analyzing financial data, such as stock data.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Bayesian Statistics: Techniques and Models (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Santa Cruz

Bayesian Statistics: Techniques and Models (Coursera)

This is the second of a two-course sequence introducing the fundamentals of Bayesian statistics. It builds on the course Bayesian Statistics: From Concept to Data Analysis, which introduces Bayesian methods through use of simple conjugate models. Real-world data often require more sophisticated models to reach realistic conclusions. This course aims to expand our “Bayesian toolbox” with more general models, and computational techniques to fit them.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Causal Inference (Coursera) Coursera
Columbia University

Causal Inference (Coursera)

This course offers a rigorous mathematical survey of causal inference at the Master’s level. Inferences about causation are of great importance in science, medicine, policy, and business. This course provides an introduction to the statistical literature on causal inference that has emerged in the last 35-40 years and that has revolutionized the way in which statisticians and applied researchers in many disciplines use data to make inferences about causal relationships.

Oct 19th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Factorial and Fractional Factorial Designs (Coursera) Coursera
Arizona State University

Factorial and Fractional Factorial Designs (Coursera)

Many experiments in engineering, science and business involve several factors. This course is an introduction to these types of multifactor experiments. The appropriate experimental strategy for these situations is based on the factorial design, a type of experiment where factors are varied together. This course focuses on designing these types of experiments and on using the ANOVA for analyzing the resulting data.

Oct 19th 2026
4 Weeks
A Crash Course in Data Science (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

A Crash Course in Data Science (Coursera)

By now you have definitely heard about data science and big data. In this one-week class, we will provide a crash course in what these terms mean and how they play a role in successful organizations. This class is for anyone who wants to learn what all the data science action is about, including those who will eventually need to manage data scientists. The goal is to get you up to speed as quickly as possible on data science without all the fluff. We've designed this course to be as convenient as possible without sacrificing any of the essentials.

Oct 19th 2026
1 Week
Improving Your Statistical Questions (Coursera) Coursera
Eindhoven University of Technology

Improving Your Statistical Questions (Coursera)

This course aims to help you to ask better statistical questions when performing empirical research. We will discuss how to design informative studies, both when your predictions are correct, as when your predictions are wrong. We will question norms, and reflect on how we can improve research practices to ask more interesting questions.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Statistics and Data Analysis with Excel, Part 1 (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

Statistics and Data Analysis with Excel, Part 1 (Coursera)

Designed for students with no prior statistics knowledge, this course will provide a foundation for further study in data science, data analytics, or machine learning. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, and discrete and continuous probability distributions. Assignments are conducted in Microsoft Excel (Windows or Mac versions). Designed to be taken with the follow-up course, “Statistics and Data Analysis with Excel, Part 2.”

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics (Coursera)

If you’ve ever skipped over`the results section of a medical paper because terms like “confidence interval” or “p-value” go over your head, then you’re in the right place. You may be a clinical practitioner reading research articles to keep up-to-date with developments in your field or a medical student wondering how to approach your own research. Greater confidence in understanding statistical analysis and the results can benefit both working professionals and those undertaking research themselves.

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks