Introduction to Data Analytics for Business (Coursera)

Introduction to Data Analytics for Business (Coursera)

This course will expose you to the data analytics practices executed in the business. We will explore such key areas of data analytics as the analytical process, how data is created, stored, and accessed, and how the organization works with data and creates the environment in which analytics can flourish.

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

What you learn in this course will give you a strong foundation in all the areas that support analytics and will help you to better position yourself for success within your organization. You’ll develop skills and a perspective that will make you more productive faster and allow you to become a valuable asset to your organization.
This course also provides a basis for going deeper into advanced analytical methods, which you have an opportunity to explore in future courses of the Data Analytics for Business specialization.
Course 1 of 5 in the Advanced Business Analytics Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Data and Analysis in the Real World
Welcome to week 1! In this module we’ll learn how to think about analytical problems and examine the process by which data enables analysis & decision making. We’ll introduce a framework called the Information-Action Value chain which describes the path from events in the world to business action, and we’ll look at some of the source systems that are used to capture data. At the end of this course you will be able to: Explain the information lifecycle from events in the real world to business actions, and how to think about analytical problems in that context , Recognize the types of events and characteristics that are often used in business analytics, and explain how the data is captured by source systems and stored using both traditional and emergent technologies, Gain a high-level familiarity with relational databases and learn how to use a simple but powerful language called SQL to extract analytical data sets of interest, Appreciate the spectrum of roles involved in the data lifecycle, and gain exposure to the various ways that organizations structure analytical functions, Summarize some of the key ideas around data quality, data governance, and data privacy.

WEEK 2
Analytical Tools
In this module we’ll learn about the technologies that enable analytical work. We’ll examine data storage and databases, including the relational database. We’ll talk about Big Data and Cloud technologies and ideas like federation, virtualization, and in-memory computing. We’ll also walk through a landscape of some of the more common tool classes and learn how these tools support common analytical tasks.

WEEK 3
Data Extraction Using SQL
In this module we’ll learn how to extract data from a relational database using Structured Query Language, or SQL. We’ll cover all the basic SQL commands and learn how to combine and stack data from different tables. We’ll also learn how to expand the power of our queries using operators and handle additional complexity using subqueries.

WEEK 4
Real World Analytical Organizations
In this module we focus on the people and organizations that work with data and actually execute analytics. We’ll discuss who does what and see how organizational structures can influence efficiency and effectiveness. We’ll also look at the supporting rules & processes that help an analytical organization run smoothly, like Data Governance, Data Privacy, and Data Quality.

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

Related Courses

Sustainable Vikings: Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility in Scandinavia (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

Sustainable Vikings: Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility in Scandinavia (Coursera)

This course gives you immediate access to the world leading sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Scandinavian firms dominate the major sustainability and CSR performance indicators including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). In this course we explore the concepts of sustainability and CSR and focus attention on how Scandinavian firms, like Novo Nordisk, have achieved superior sustainability and CSR performances.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Business Statistics and Analysis Capstone (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Business Statistics and Analysis Capstone (Coursera)

The Business Statistics and Analysis Capstone is an opportunity to apply various skills developed across the four courses in the specialization to a real life data. The Capstone, in collaboration with an industry partner uses publicly available ‘Housing Data’ to pose various questions typically a client would pose to a data analyst. Your job is to do the relevant statistical analysis and report your findings in response to the questions in a way that anyone can understand.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Investment Management in an Evolving and Volatile World by HEC Paris and AXA Investment Managers (Coursera) Coursera
HEC Paris

Investment Management in an Evolving and Volatile World by HEC Paris and AXA Investment Managers (Coursera)

Have you ever wanted to invest in financial markets, but were always afraid that you didn’t have the proper tools or knowledge to make informed decisions? Have you ever wondered how investment management companies operate and what fund managers do? AXA Investment Managers, in partnership with HEC Paris, will introduce you to the most important ideas and concepts in investment management, to help you better understand your financial future.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Julia Scientific Programming (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Julia Scientific Programming (Coursera)

This four-module course introduces users to Julia as a first language. Julia is a high-level, high-performance dynamic programming language developed specifically for scientific computing. This language will be particularly useful for applications in physics, chemistry, astronomy, engineering, data science, bioinformatics and many more.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Web Application Development: Basic Concepts (Coursera) Coursera
University of New Mexico

Web Application Development: Basic Concepts (Coursera)

This is the first course in a Coursera Specialization track involving Web Application Architectures. This course will give you the basic background, terminology and fundamental concepts that you need to understand in order to build modern full stack web applications. A full stack web developer is familiar with each "layer" of the software technologies involved in a web application, including data modeling and database technologies, the web server environment and middleware components, network protocols, the user interface and basic visual design and user interaction concepts.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Principles of fMRI 1 (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Principles of fMRI 1 (Coursera)

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is the most widely used technique for investigating the living, functioning human brain as people perform tasks and experience mental states. It is a convergence point for multidisciplinary work from many disciplines. Psychologists, statisticians, physicists, computer scientists, neuroscientists, medical researchers, behavioral scientists, engineers, public health researchers, biologists, and others are coming together to advance our understanding of the human mind and brain. This course covers the design, acquisition, and analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data, including psychological inference, MR Physics, K Space, experimental design, pre-processing of fMRI data, as well as Generalized Linear Models (GLM’s).

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Matrix Methods (Coursera) Coursera
University of Minnesota

Matrix Methods (Coursera)

Mathematical Matrix Methods lie at the root of most methods of machine learning and data analysis of tabular data. Learn the basics of Matrix Methods, including matrix-matrix multiplication, solving linear equations, orthogonality, and best least squares approximation. Discover the Singular Value Decomposition that plays a fundamental role in dimensionality reduction, Principal Component Analysis, and noise reduction.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Mathematical Biostatistics Boot Camp 1 (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Mathematical Biostatistics Boot Camp 1 (Coursera)

This class presents the fundamental probability and statistical concepts used in elementary data analysis. It will be taught at an introductory level for students with junior or senior college-level mathematical training including a working knowledge of calculus. A small amount of linear algebra and programming are useful for the class, but not required.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Managing the Company of the Future (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,London Business School

Managing the Company of the Future (Coursera)

The aim of the course is to provide you with a comprehensive framework for understanding both the traditional principles of management inside companies today as well as the alternative principles that are becoming increasingly important. It provides both theoretical and practical perspectives on the nature of management in today’s organisations.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Big Data Analysis with Scala and Spark (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Big Data Analysis with Scala and Spark (Coursera)

Manipulating big data distributed over a cluster using functional concepts is rampant in industry, and is arguably one of the first widespread industrial uses of functional ideas. This is evidenced by the popularity of MapReduce and Hadoop, and most recently Apache Spark, a fast, in-memory distributed collections framework written in Scala. In this course, we'll see how the data parallel paradigm can be extended to the distributed case, using Spark throughout.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Behavioral Finance (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

Behavioral Finance (Coursera)

We make thousands of decisions every day. Do I cross the road now, or wait for the oncoming truck to pass? Should I eat fries or a salad for lunch? How much should I tip the cab driver? We usually make these decisions with almost no thought, using what psychologists call “heuristics” – rules of thumb that enable us to navigate our lives. Without these mental shortcuts, we would be paralyzed by the multitude of daily choices.

Aug 17th 2026
3 Weeks