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Stanford University

Intro to Statistics

Stanford University via Udacity

Overview

Statistics is about extracting meaning from data. In this class, we will introduce techniques for visualizing relationships in data and systematic techniques for understanding the relationships using mathematics.

Syllabus

  • Visualizing relationships in data
    • Seeing relationships in data.,Making predictions based on data.,Simpson's paradox.
  • Probability
    • Introduction to Probability.,Bayes Rule.,Correlation vs. Causation.
  • Estimation
    • Maximum Likelihood Estimation.,Mean, Median, Mode.,Standard Deviation and Variance.
  • Outliers and Normal Distribution.
    • Outliers, Quartiles.,Binomial Distribution.,Manipulating Normal Distribution.
  • Inference
    • Confidence Intervals.,Hypothesis Testing.
  • Regression
    • Linear regression.,Correlation.

Taught by

Sebastian Thrun

Reviews

3.5 rating, based on 39 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Intro to Statistics

  • Olena Bosenok
    Exceptional teaching! Professor Thrun is the BEST teacher I've had in my life. Engaging, bright lectures, relevant homework assignments. The first (and so far the only one) MOOC where by the time of the assignments I remembered all material and didn't have to go back to the videos for references. I took the first offering of the course. There were few bugs in the grader, that are fixed now. They also added new lessons. I really recommend this course to learn the basic statistics.
  • Danya Lette
    There were some irregularities that made the course very hard to follow for a beginner. For instance, there were different versions of some formulae that were used in different contexts, with no explanation as to why or which one should use when. It seemed like maybe the instructor glossed over some concepts in order to avoid boring the students, but at the end it just made the material incomprehensible. Math is supposed to be dry, so I guess my critique is that this class wasn't dry enough so the lessons were essentially useless.
  • Promo Dim
    The professor seems like a nice guy but he is an incompetent teacher. There's a complete lack of cohesion between concepts. Nothing is well explained. The professor is very interested in statistics, but is unable to make sense. You may leave with mo…
  • Profile image for Kevin C. Murray
    Kevin C. Murray
    This class has a ton of good info but is deeply flawed. The pacing between videos and quizzes is terrible in the early section with some videos consisting of :08 snippets that simply have the instructor saying "Great, you got it right" which could have easily been combined with the following video that introduces the next topic or quiz. You can almost see them struggling to figure out how to make an online class.

    While some sections are paced far too slowly, others rocket ahead without even preparing the students for the concepts they quiz you on. For math or computer science students, I'd imagine this course would drag and then suddenly become more what they're used to. For everyone else, avoid.
  • Apostolos K.
    Interesting concept, but not executed well. I actually got half way through (or was it 1/3?) before I decided to call it quits. The initial videos were pretty OK, but as we progressed it felt that I missed something, as if there were missing videos that clued me into their methodology
  • Anonymous
    Very good class. The material is a great preparation for Statistics 101 or for just becoming literate in probability and statistics concepts. The instructor explains concepts very thoroughly, with love. Questions/answers are interspersed in the lectures, a very effective teaching strategy. Especially high school students would gain considerably by taking this course.
  • Anonymous
    This was a good introductory course. While it did not perhaps cover the full range of topics found in a college level stats intro course, it does show the student that introductory statistics does not require any high level math. The end result will be a very serviceable and usable knowledge of basic statistics.
  • Anonymous
    This is the best class I've taken! It had just right amount of information, challenge, and engagement for me! Thank you Sebastian Thrun! Highly recommend it to anybody who wants/needs to take Statistics 101 or maybe just curious about probability of rain at your place or what door to choose at Let's Make a Deal :)
  • Anonymous
    Instructor gave only partial information before a quiz. The square foot cost per house was a constant across all houses. In real life the square foot cost per house will vary. It's fine to make the cost per square foot a constant number but for the…
  • Learning it in the course may not only be limited to information, but also extends to skills and behavior.

    So you have the ability to categorize what you've learned correctly, putting everything in place, without any confusion of concepts.

    Being well aware of these elements will make you realize that the scope for benefiting from the course is greater than you think, and sometimes it's not even the greatest use of information, but in the behaviors or skills that are developed in your personality.
  • It's a very good course for beginners and even for intermediate students. It gives us very accurate methods to solve the staticians problems.
  • Anonymous
    It's a great course. The professor gives an interesting rhythim and is always trying to give practical examples with excelent mood. The huge amount of quizes keep us aware. It's an unique course, and must be viewed in this perspective. Congratulations.
  • Anonymous
    Some of the videos (example in the Central Limit Theorem) are not clearly explained. The Teaching Assistant does not explain the concepts or even ask the questions using accurate language. The forums are sparsely populated with meaningful answers.
  • Anonymous
    Context: I've just finished problem set 5 on inference.

    Some of the concepts could be better explained. Some of the formulas used shift throughout the course or are inaccurate. Some of the problem sets appear to use techniques that are not introduced in the main course material. :(
  • Very nice class. While Coursera does have Ng's Machine Learning, Udacity does have this Statistics class as one of the first. I can only recommend.
  • Anonymous
    The instructor is clueless on how to teach. Have great skill to make things more complicated than necessary. I would not recommend taking this class. Avoid this class!
  • Profile image for Anthony Akentiev
    Anthony Akentiev
    The course is great. Take it before moving to Artificial Intelligence . You may need to better understand 'statistics' first in order to complete it.
    Many thanx to authors!
  • Anonymous
    If you are looking for clear and in-depth explanations, this is definitely not the course for you. Some of the lessons are simply useless.
  • Anonymous
    hope good i have not started this course yet but hoping this course will help me to understand statics. acctuly i am a student of bba next sem my business quantities subject is starting so i am preparing now for that because i dont know anything about statics
  • Profile image for Sandra Weissinger
    Sandra Weissinger

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