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January 28, 2025
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This course is part of Bayesian Statistics Specialization
Instructor: Herbert Lee
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(3,185 reviews)
(3,185 reviews)
Describe & apply the Bayesian approach to statistics.
Explain the key differences between Bayesian and Frequentist approaches.
Master the basics of the R computing environment.
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This course introduces the Bayesian approach to statistics, starting with the concept of probability and moving to the analysis of data. We will learn about the philosophy of the Bayesian approach as well as how to implement it for common types of data. We will compare the Bayesian approach to the more commonly-taught Frequentist approach, and see some of the benefits of the Bayesian approach. In particular, the Bayesian approach allows for better accounting of uncertainty, results that have more intuitive and interpretable meaning, and more explicit statements of assumptions. This course combines lecture videos, computer demonstrations, readings, exercises, and discussion boards to create an active learning experience. For computing, you have the choice of using Microsoft Excel or the open-source, freely available statistical package R, with equivalent content for both options. The lectures provide some of the basic mathematical development as well as explanations of philosophy and interpretation. Completion of this course will give you an understanding of the concepts of the Bayesian approach, understanding the key differences between Bayesian and Frequentist approaches, and the ability to do basic data analyses.
In this module, we review the basics of probability and Bayes’ theorem. In Lesson 1, we introduce the different paradigms or definitions of probability and discuss why probability provides a coherent framework for dealing with uncertainty. In Lesson 2, we review the rules of conditional probability and introduce Bayes’ theorem. Lesson 3 reviews common probability distributions for discrete and continuous random variables.
8 videos4 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt
This module introduces concepts of statistical inference from both frequentist and Bayesian perspectives. Lesson 4 takes the frequentist view, demonstrating maximum likelihood estimation and confidence intervals for binomial data. Lesson 5 introduces the fundamentals of Bayesian inference. Beginning with a binomial likelihood and prior probabilities for simple hypotheses, you will learn how to use Bayes’ theorem to update the prior with data to obtain posterior probabilities. This framework is extended with the continuous version of Bayes theorem to estimate continuous model parameters, and calculate posterior probabilities and credible intervals.
11 videos5 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt
In this module, you will learn methods for selecting prior distributions and building models for discrete data. Lesson 6 introduces prior selection and predictive distributions as a means of evaluating priors. Lesson 7 demonstrates Bayesian analysis of Bernoulli data and introduces the computationally convenient concept of conjugate priors. Lesson 8 builds a conjugate model for Poisson data and discusses strategies for selection of prior hyperparameters.
9 videos2 readings4 assignments1 discussion prompt
This module covers conjugate and objective Bayesian analysis for continuous data. Lesson 9 presents the conjugate model for exponentially distributed data. Lesson 10 discusses models for normally distributed data, which play a central role in statistics. In Lesson 11, we return to prior selection and discuss ‘objective’ or ‘non-informative’ priors. Lesson 12 presents Bayesian linear regression with non-informative priors, which yield results comparable to those of classical regression.
9 videos5 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt
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Reviewed on Dec 8, 2019
It was a good course for me to get familiar with the new perspective on statistics. Thank you! Maybe, some extended practice exercise at the end of the course would make it even better)
Reviewed on Aug 27, 2021
This course is vary helpful for the understanding of the basics of Bayesian analysis. The course material are fantastic as well as the teacher. Good introductory Course in My opinion.
Reviewed on Nov 25, 2016
A good course but neither notes nor lectures were not in much details. But still it was worth my time. I strongly recommend it if you want a subtle introduction to Bayesian Statistics.
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You should have exposure to the concepts from a basic statistics class (for example, probability, the Central Limit Theorem, confidence intervals, linear regression) and calculus (integration and differentiation), but it is not expected that you remember how to do all of these items. The course will provide some overview of the statistical concepts, which should be enough to remind you of the necessary details if you've at least seen the concepts previously. On the calculus side, the lectures will include some use of calculus, so it is important that you understand the concept of an integral as finding the area under a curve, or differentiating to find a maximum, but you will not be required to do any integration or differentiation yourself.
Data analysis is done using computer software. This course provides the option of Excel or R. Equivalent content is provided for both options. A very brief introduction to R is provided for people who have never used it before, but this is not meant to be a course on R. Learners using Excel are expected to already have basic familiarity of Excel.
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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
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