Data Recording and Basic Statistics

Record cleanly and summarise without misleading anyone.

What the course covers

8 modules, 32 topics. Open any one to see what sits inside it.

1. 1.1 Raw data, and why it is never thrown away
2. 1.2 Designing a recording sheet
3. 1.3 Units, precision and metadata
4. 1.4 Transcription errors, and how to avoid them
1. 2.1 Variables and observations
2. 2.2 Types of data
3. 2.3 Coding categorical data
4. 2.4 Building a tidy dataset
1. 3.1 Frequency tables and distributions
2. 3.2 Mean, median and mode
3. 3.3 Range, variance and standard deviation
4. 3.4 Choosing the right summary
1. 4.1 Bar charts, histograms and box plots
2. 4.2 Scatter plots and line graphs
3. 4.3 Axes, scales and honest presentation
4. 4.4 Charts that mislead
1. 5.1 Why measurements vary at all
2. 5.2 The normal distribution
3. 5.3 Outliers: identify, investigate, never simply delete
4. 5.4 Sampling and representativeness
1. 6.1 Comparing two groups
2. 6.2 What a significance test actually asks
3. 6.3 Correlation
4. 6.4 Simple linear regression
1. 7.1 Standard error and confidence intervals
2. 7.2 Reporting a result with its uncertainty
3. 7.3 Carrying error through a calculation
4. 7.4 What a p value does not mean
1. 8.1 Keeping an auditable data trail
2. 8.2 Version control for datasets
3. 8.3 Selective reporting, and why it is misconduct
4. 8.4 Handing your data to someone else

By the end of this course you will be able to explain and apply:

Two hours, not two months Eight short modules. Finish in a day, or do one module a night for a week.

Job-ready from the first module Everything here is a task you will actually be asked to do at work, not theory you will never use.

Built for a phone Watch on the bus, pause mid-module, pick up where you stopped. No download, no lab.

A certificate that can be checked Every certificate carries an ID your college or an employer can verify on our site.

Pre-degree / Foundation students in India
Studying: B.Sc. Physics / Chemistry / Mathematics / Biotechnology, Integrated B.Sc.-M.Sc.
Recent graduates strengthening a CV
Anyone working in this field without a formal qualification

About two hours in total — eight modules of roughly fifteen minutes. You can do it in one sitting or spread it across a week. Your place is saved either way.
No. There is no prerequisite course and no software to install. A phone, tablet or computer with an internet connection is enough.
Yes. This course is placed at Pre-degree / Foundation for India, and the content is written for that level. If you are at a different stage, change your level at the top of the page and the courses will change with it.
A certificate for the course, carrying an ID that your college or an employer can check on our verification page. You keep access to the material afterwards.
Yes — ₹450 for this course on its own, or ₹1,450 for all five in this set, which works out cheaper if you want more than one.
There is a short quiz at the end of each module so you can check what stuck. It is not timed and you can retake it.
Change your country using the picker at the top. Level names, degree names and prices all switch to that country, and the courses adjust to its education system.

Wording shown for India. Pick a different country at the top and the terms, currency and programme names change with it.