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Certificate of Achievement
has completed the following course:
Survival Statistics: Secrets for Demystifying Numbers
Royal Holloway, University of London
This online course equipped learners to detect and avoid common numerical and graphical tricks. Learners mastered the building blocks of survey research and election prediction, including the main pitfalls that can distort these estimates and predictions. Learners secured sound knowledge of the widely misunderstood statistics of rare events, with applications including the interpretation of tests for rare conditions, systems for detecting violent extremists and the estimation of war deaths.
3 weeks, 3 hours per week
Professor Michael Spagat
Professor of Economics
Royal Holloway, University of London
Transcript
Learning outcomes
- Evaluate risk statements, always maintaining sharp distinctions between absolute and relative risk
- Calculate and interpret the chances of rare events and modify these calculations in response to new information.
- Critically evaluate survey results and engage in fruitful debate about survey findings.
- Identify and inoculate yourself against common data manipulation tricks
Syllabus
- Absolute and relative risks: Health scares and other confusion over percentages
- Surveys: What they are good for and when they go wrong
- Rare events and false positives with applications to HIV testing and the detection of terrorists
Issued on 16th June 2020
The person named on this certificate has completed the activities in the transcript above. For more information about Certificates of Achievement and the effort required to become eligible, visit futurelearn.com/proof-of-learning/certificate-of-achievement.
This certificate represents proof of learning. It is not a formal qualification, degree, or part of a degree.