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First Steps in Data Science with Google Analytics: Bridging Business to Technical Experts

Get started in data science by learning how to use Google Analytics to analyse user behaviour and website performance.

10,268 enrolled on this course

A graph on a Google analytics page
  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    2 hours

Get your start in the field of data science by learning to use Google Analytics.

In a world where decisions are increasingly data-driven, an understanding of data science can take you a long way. This course assumes no specialist prior knowledge and can quickly teach you to be the bridge in your organisation between analytics experts and other functions.

You’ll be introduced to data science through Google Analytics, an industry standard. You’ll learn how to create and use tracking codes, and to view the types of data it produces. By the end of the course, you’ll have new practical skills you can use immediately and will be ready to take your next steps in data science.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 5 seconds Everyone is talking about data analytics but what is it? One important aspect of analytics is tracking the use of web sites, enabling their owners to collect and analyse data on how their site is being used. But raw data per se is not useful you need to make sense of it. Analytic techniques display results in ways that make them accessible to non-technical people.

Skip to 0 minutes and 39 seconds So ask yourself would your career be helped if you better understood who visits websites, and what they do once they get there? Would your organisation or company benefit? In fact - could you be the one who brings analytics to your workplace, or enables your organisation to use analytics better to achieve its goals.

Skip to 1 minute and 3 seconds This course will help you to take a first step in data analytics. In particular it will help you understand the power and functioning of Google Analytics a free and widely used industry standard web analytics service. By the end you will understand the scope and type of data you can collect and display.

Skip to 1 minute and 27 seconds But more than that - this course takes analytics a step further it offers you the chance to gain practical hands-on experience. You will see how code is added to a website enabling Google Analytics to collect data on its use. This website will be shared between all the people who take the course - you’ll see your collective data accumulate as the course progresses - how many of us access the site through time, where in the world we are, how many are using mobile phones to access the site, how we move through the site, and much more If you want to understand how analytics can open doors, then this course is for you.

Skip to 2 minutes and 12 seconds If you want to be that special person able to use their understanding of analytics to bridge between the technical experts and the business, this course helps you take those first steps. After all if your organisation doesn’t know what’s possible then it’s hard for it to act and make the most of its web presence.

What topics will you cover?

  • data science and data analytics provide valuable data on the characteristics and behaviours of website users
  • Google Analytics provide free services to collect and display a wide variety of user data over time
  • how to make Google Analytics scripts and insert them into websites
  • how to interpret the data and displays generated by your own cohort during the course

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explain how data collected on website user characteristics and behaviours can be used by organisations to monitor the performance of the website and how it is achieving its goals
  • Apply Google Analytics to create tracking code and know how insert it into the HTML code of pages of a website
  • Identify the wide range of user statistics that can be produced by Google Analytics, and the way they can be displayed for use in reports
  • Engage in your organisation as a 'bridge person' between the business side and the technical side, explaining what data can be collected and what data is needed
  • Take your next steps in data science to advance your knowledge and improve your job and career prospects

Who is the course for?

This course has value to anyone in an organisation that does business online. A grounding in data science can help you to understand how well your business is doing. It would also appeal to young people looking for their first job, as these in-demand skills will give you a strong head start.

Who will you learn with?

I am Professor of Complexity Science and Design at the Open University & Deputy President of the UNESCO UniTwin Complex Systems Digital Campus. I am interested in interdisciplinary science for policy.

I teach Computer Science at the ISCTE-IUL - Lisbon University Institute. My research interests concern modelling complex social systems through intensive data collection and analysis.

My background is in Physics (BS, PhD), and Applied Math (MS). I have worked on modeling reaction-diffusion and epidemic systems.

Who developed the course?

UNESCO UNITWIN Complex Systems Digital Campus

The Complex Systems Digital Campus is an international network of individuals and institutions working together to promote research and education in complex systems science and in integrative sciences

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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