What is statistical inference?

Statistical inference is the process whereby you can draw conclusions about a population based on random samples of that population and the statistics that you draw from those samples. When you rely on statistical inference, you take what you've observed about your samples of that population and apply them to the group as a whole. Applying statistical inference allows you to take what you know about the population as well as what's uncertain to make statements about the entire population based on your analysis.

Why is it important to learn about statistical inference?

If you want to learn about a certain population—whether they're customers or fellow employees—you can use statistical inference to draw conclusions about that population based on your analysis of data about them. You can't always survey or test an entire population to gain insight, but you can sample the population and make educated assumptions based on the data. Understanding statistical inference allows you to take that data and use it to draw conclusions that make sense and prove true.

How can I apply statistical inference in my career?

Statistical inference has plenty of benefits for different business sectors. Statisticians and data analysts use this method often to draw conclusions based on samples of populations. If you're in sales or product development, you can use statistical inference to determine which brands or products are popular with your customers or clients. Scientists use statistical inference to test hypotheses and draw conclusions when it's impossible for them to test or sample an entire population. You can apply statistical inference to analyze the data from surveys of any population that you sample.

How can online courses on Coursera help me learn about statistical inference?

Online courses on Coursera give you both a grasp of the concepts of statistical inference and practical applications. You'll learn from the best instructors in the academic world, and you can learn at a pace and schedule that best suits your schedule and lifestyle. When you finish our courses, you'll know how to use statistical inference in your career, which will give you an advantage whether you're trying to get better at your current job or whether you're looking to make a career change.

What are the benefits of taking an online Statistical Inference course?

Online Statistical Inference courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Statistical Inference skills. Choose from a wide range of Statistical Inference courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.

What Statistical Inference courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Statistical Inference, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here .

Top Statistical Inference Courses - Learn Statistical Inference Online

Explore the Statistical Inference Course Catalog

University of Pennsylvania
Introduction to Finance and Accounting
Skills you'll gain: Financial Statements, Return On Investment, Financial Statement Analysis, Financial Reporting, Capital Budgeting, Financial Accounting, Financial Modeling, Working Capital, Balance Sheet, Accrual Accounting, Cash Flows, Income Statement, Finance, Accounting, Financial Analysis, Tax Planning, Equities, Financial Planning, Business Valuation, Corporate Finance
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
14K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
University of Pennsylvania
Fundamentals of Quantitative Modeling
Skills you'll gain: Mathematical Modeling, Statistical Modeling, Regression Analysis, Business Modeling, Financial Modeling, Business Mathematics, Markov Model, Probability, Predictive Analytics, Process Optimization, Risk Management, Statistics, Probability Distribution, Simulation and Simulation Software, Forecasting
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
9.1K reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free
Johns Hopkins University
Business Analytics with Excel: Elementary to Advanced
Skills you'll gain: Risk Modeling, Operations Research, Regression Analysis, Microsoft Excel, Business Analytics, Risk Analysis, Business Process Modeling, Business Modeling, Data Modeling, Resource Allocation, Statistical Analysis, Process Optimization, Financial Analysis, Predictive Analytics, Transportation Operations, Complex Problem Solving, Linear Algebra
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
3.7K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
IBM
IBM Data Management
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Data Storytelling, Data Warehousing, SQL, Data Governance, Data Security, Data Migration, Database Design, Data Literacy, Descriptive Statistics, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Mining, Cloud Storage, Data Visualization Software, Data Store, IBM DB2, Data Management, Relational Databases, MySQL, Excel Formulas
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
17K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
IBM
Tools for Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Jupyter, Computer Programming Tools, Data Analysis Software, Data Visualization Software, Data Science, GitHub, Big Data, R Programming, Statistical Programming, Application Programming Interface (API), Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Git (Version Control System), Development Environment, Other Programming Languages, Query Languages
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
30K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of California, Davis
Data Visualization with Tableau
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Presentation, Data Visualization Software, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Data Visualization, Dashboard, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Mapping, Tableau Software, Proposal Development, Graphing, Histogram, Scatter Plots, Tree Maps, Exploratory Data Analysis, Statistical Visualization, Storytelling, Performance Metric, Geospatial Mapping, Heat Maps
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
8.2K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Johns Hopkins University
Summary Statistics in Public Health
Skills you'll gain: Biostatistics, Statistical Visualization, Epidemiology, Medical Science and Research, Quantitative Research, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Methods, Data Literacy, Probability Distribution, Public Health, Statistical Analysis, Clinical Trials, Sample Size Determination
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
2K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of California San Diego
Big Data
Skills you'll gain: Apache Spark, Apache Hadoop, Data Integration, Exploratory Data Analysis, Big Data, Graph Theory, Data Pipelines, Database Design, Data Modeling, Regression Analysis, Applied Machine Learning, Data Presentation, Scalability, Data Mining, Data Processing, Statistical Analysis, Data Management, NoSQL, Database Management Systems, Network Analysis
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
14K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Multiple educators
Data Science Foundations
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Pseudocode, Jupyter, Algorithms, Data Literacy, Data Mining, Pandas (Python Package), Data Visualization Software, Correlation Analysis, Web Scraping, NumPy, Probability & Statistics, Predictive Modeling, Big Data, Computer Programming Tools, Automation, Data Analysis Software, Data Collection, Machine Learning Algorithms, Unsupervised Learning
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
112K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Status: AI skills
IBM
IBM Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Data Visualization Software, Data Wrangling, Data Visualization, SQL, Supervised Learning, Feature Engineering, Plotly, Interactive Data Visualization, Jupyter, Data Literacy, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Mining, Data Cleansing, Matplotlib, Data Analysis, Unsupervised Learning, Generative AI, Pandas (Python Package), Professional Networking
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
143K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Johns Hopkins University
Data Science
Skills you'll gain: Shiny (R Package), Rmarkdown, Exploratory Data Analysis, Regression Analysis, Leaflet (Software), Version Control, Statistical Analysis, R Programming, Data Manipulation, Data Cleansing, Data Science, Statistical Inference, Predictive Modeling, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Data Wrangling, Data Visualization, Plotly, Machine Learning Algorithms, Plot (Graphics), Knitr
4.5
Rating, 4.5 out of 5 stars
51K reviews
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months
Johns Hopkins University
The Data Scientist’s Toolbox
Skills you'll gain: Rmarkdown, Version Control, Data Science, Big Data, Git (Version Control System), GitHub, Data Analysis, R Programming, Statistical Programming, Development Environment, Integrated Development Environments, Software Installation
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
34K reviews
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks