Who is this tutorial for?
It is aimed at anyone who:
- is involved in research or data analysis as part of their work or studies,
- is new to statistics or wants to strengthen their foundational understanding,
- wishes to learn how to apply statistical techniques to real-world research problems,
- wants to improve their ability to interpret and present data accurately, or
- seeks to use statistical software confidently for research purposes.
What will you learn?
In this course, you will gain a comprehensive introduction to the core principles of statistics and their practical applications in research. Through real-world examples and interactive learning, you will develop both theoretical understanding and practical skills for effective data analysis and decision-making.
If you dedicate sufficient time to engage with all the learning materials and meet the completion criteria, you will be able to:
- Comprehend commonly used statistical terminology,
- Recognise the applications of various statistical techniques,
- Utilise statistical software effectively, and
- Select suitable statistical tests for analysing your research data.
Length of the tutorial
This is a self-study tutorial. You can join any time and stay enrolled in the tutorial for as long as you would like. However, we recommend that you complete the tutorial within 3 weeks of joining.
Topics covered
The tutorial consists of several learning resources followed by a quiz:
- Key terms
- Sampling
- Study design and choosing the right test
- Sampling error
- Statistical tools
- Statistical software including R
- Common statistical tests
- Data science, AI and fairness
Expected time commitment
To get maximum benefit from the tutorial, you should plan to spend about 3-10 hours going through the learning resources and completing the quiz.
Completion criteria
- Going through all the learning resources;
- Achieving a passing score on the quiz; and
- Completing the pre-course and feedback survey.
A certificate will be generated automatically for you once you have met the completion criteria. You can download this certificate from the tutorial homepage.
Connectivity required
The learning resources are text-based, so you do not need a high-bandwidth internet connection.
Deadlines
This is a self-study, self-paced tutorial, so there are no deadlines.
Technical support
We are unable to offer technical support for this tutorial. All the information you need to complete the tutorial successfully can be found in the introductory resource at the start of the tutorial.
Is there any advice on how to learn online?
This PDF document may be useful to help you prepare to learn online. It also contains answers to frequently asked questions.
Can the learning resources be reused or adapted?
Yes. The learning resources have been developed by INASP and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
**You can enrol in this tutorial anytime.**
You should first be logged in to this site.
Create an account for yourself on this site (if you don't have one) or log in with your existing account. Select the 'Log in' link.
After you've logged in with your account, return to this course enrolment page, in case you're not on that page already. You may want to bookmark the course enrolment page in your browser to get to it easily.
If you are logged in, there will be a button called 'Enrol me'. Select this button to enrol in the tutorial.