Introduction to Data Analysis

Course Description

Whatever your profession. Whatever your field. As a professional, and certainly as a leader, you will be asked to make a decision based on data. This course will introduce the different types of decisions made in an organizational setting, why quantitative analytics is important, and how data quality can affect decision making. Since quantitative analytics is used in various settings, this intermediate-level course also offers insight into how research is used in different sectors. From a management perspective, the course highlights appropriate quantitative methods and ways to ensure quality and accuracy through research design.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• Explain why quantitative analysis and analytics is important in decision making
• Explain the types of decisions that can be made analytically in an organizational setting
• Describe different decision making models and tools
• Identify the fundamental concepts of measurement including levels of measurement, reliability and validity, errors, measurement and information bias
• Explain how quality data affects decision making (GIGO principle)
• Describe methods of ensuring the quality of data
• Evaluate techniques for ensuring accurate research design
• Describe how research is used in different settings: business, education, health care, the military, government, nonprofits
• Explain data management techniques including transforming data, recoding data, and handling missing data
• Apply appropriate decision making techniques to a specific case