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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Summary Statistics in Public Health by Johns Hopkins University

4.8
stars
1,842 ratings

About the Course

Biostatistics is the application of statistical reasoning to the life sciences, and it is the key to unlocking the data gathered by researchers and the evidence presented in the scientific literature. In this course, we'll focus on the use of statistical measurement methods within the world of public health research. Along the way, you'll be introduced to a variety of methods and measures, and you'll practice interpreting data and performing calculations on real data from published studies. Topics include summary measures, visual displays, continuous data, sample size, the normal distribution, binary data, the element of time, and the Kaplan-Meir curve....

Top reviews

AA

Jan 10, 2021

This is a good and enticing introduction for the rest of the Coursera Specialization where it belongs. For added value, consider taking this course with a biostatistics textbook for better retention.

AB

Apr 23, 2020

I am glad to learn a lot of terms in statistics and how to use and interpret them in the context of Public Health researches. The Instructor provided enough examples to understand the lessons better.

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26 - 50 of 444 Reviews for Summary Statistics in Public Health

By Alexander

Oct 25, 2019

basics, but great for refreshing; also some new insights I have not learned before.

By Aedrian A

Jan 11, 2021

This is a good and enticing introduction for the rest of the Coursera Specialization where it belongs. For added value, consider taking this course with a biostatistics textbook for better retention.

By 金币

Jan 22, 2022

very good!

By Shamalasri

Jun 23, 2020

Very wholesome and step by step teaching, however the technicalities (video volume, voice modulation, and other noises from background) hampers concentration. Very enthusiastic lecturer, could experiment with better modes of teaching/writing.

By cristiano b

Apr 20, 2020

interesting but you should add explication related with interval confidence also for K-M analysis

By Anubhav S

Jul 10, 2021

I am forced to give a 3 star rating to this course even with its quality content because of the poor execution.

Main problem with this course is the execution. There are many videos going over 20 minute mark. Not a single quiz, graded or practice, will give you the explanation, I have taken other courses from John Hopkins too, this was the first time I was having this issue. Many times the faculty will move the mic leading to a distorted voice. Many times the slides will be just plain and boring. Many times I wondered should I continue the course or not. But disregarding the execution, its 5 star content helped me a lot.

On a side note, take another statistics course before coming here. Faculty is one of PHDs who will keep on saying jargons to make him sound smart, even if it was not his intention, leading to the confusion many times. He even said about statistical inference and other high level topics in the first week. I highly doubt that a beginner can properly understand what he even meant to say as there is not even a glossary for this course.

In summary: 5 Star Content, 2 Star execution. Final score: 3 Star, a great course marred by poor execution.

By Jawharah A

Mar 6, 2020

it's great for people with no prior knowledge of public health and biostatistics, which isn't my case. I think the course needs more examples for practice and trials. Moreover, I couldn't find the boxplot lecture (it was mentioned in combination with other subject although it deserves its own lecture) and I had to watch youtube videos for the final project.

By Truc T N

Feb 2, 2020

The course covers the very basic understanding of summary statistics. Don't expect this to be rigorous. If you take this as a refresher, double the playback speed, don't skip the additional videos and read the quiz questions carefully. Should earn you a 90 or higher.

By Ioannis K G

Jan 2, 2022

It was a very useful course and it's the first but not the last one I take. In order to give a less biased opinion, I must say the following: I am a MD Urologist 53 years old (never late to learn!) and I have being studying biostatistics by myself the last 6 months. But still I needed some support because I had many doubts. So I tried the course.. The strengths: nice lectures and examples by the Professor, very useful the assessments. I cleared my doubts on Summary Statistics. The weakness: on the last section (survival times) some concepts were introduced but with less explanations (hazard ratio, cumulative probability, incidence rate calculation). So it was hard and I assed the exam on the first attempt I think also because I have studied before some Statistics. I give 5 stars after all because it really gives you a structured and complete mindset of the summary statistics.

By Jenny M

Jul 4, 2020

To my surprise I really enjoyed this course. I am not a "math person" and I hated taking a statistics course in college, but I signed up for this course because I am planning to enter an MPH program in the fall and I wanted to get a head start on what I knew would be challenging material for me.

Dr. McCready's lectures were easy to follow and he gave so many examples that it helped me absorb the information. The format of being able to stop the videos, rewind, and listen again was a great help as well. I found the quizzes challenging, but not tricky or underhanded and felt that Dr. McCready is really interested in helping students learn and understand the material.

Thank you!

By Stephen G

Apr 23, 2023

Very clear and informative. The video lectures are entertaining, punctuated by street sounds, housekeeping, and a cat, if I recall.

I have found the post-quiz PDF explanations very useful. But it is important to make notes (and give them some thought after), as the video material disappears from memory quickly. The trial quizzes are essential, and welcome.

At least one of the quoted studies from the literature (on needle exchange efficacy) was quite familiar to me, knowing both the paper, the PI, and the lead statistician. An odd way of feeling 'at home' for someone not in the public health field!

By Jeani F S

Feb 1, 2021

The course combines the technical but still basic elements of statistical analysis with timely, relatable examples of how the knowledge can be immediately applied to public policy research and analysis. I have felt captive by the abbreviated conclusions published in peer-review journals, unable to take advantage of the nuances and complexities that appear in the form of histograms and statistical analysis summaries or abstracts. Excellent pacing and prolific use of real-world clinical and population health statistics - well done!

By Willy J N O

Jun 15, 2021

Excelentes explicaciones del Dr. McGready. Considero que la mejor forma de aprender estadistica es con ejemplos y siendo reiterativo con los conceptos importantes y este curso cumple con ambos requisitos perfectamente. Supero mis expectativas y me ayudo mucho a comprender mejor los conceptos estudiados en las clases en mi Universidad. Sugeriria agregar un modulo practico adicional al final como parte de la evaluacion formativa para integrar la mayor cantidad de conceptos posibles en los ejercicios.

By Amina A

Oct 24, 2022

Great introduction to biostatistics and epidemiology!

Pr McGready’s explanation and curriculum design was a great refresher for me! I advise students to take notes on the provided lecture notes while watching the videos. The practice tests at the end of each week were a great source to practice the acquired skills. What I like the most about the course is, it have no unnecessary calculations and complicated rules, only relevant concepts applied to healthcare! I definitely rate it 5 stars.

By Mustafa A

Mar 18, 2021

I am very excited to complete this Course I learn a lot. Even I was study statistics during my bachelor's degree and master's degree I discover a lot of misunderstandings and false representations of data. This course summarizes to you a lot of important facts about the data summarizing and comparing whatever the kind of types. Thanks, Syrian youth Assembly for providing me this opportunity. Now I can complete my thesis confidently.#statistics #learning #education #research #data

By Val C

Sep 28, 2022

Excellent course! I'm a physician and have been reading studies for decades, but now have a much better understanding of how we get from data to plots and conclusions. Looking forward to the next in the series!

Indexing is a problem. For example, I remember that box plots were covered in this module, but I can't recall just where. It would be helpful to have an online companion textbook or a recommended textbook that covers similar material.

By Jaime S

Dec 28, 2023

I was a little worried about jumping back in for a second degree and decided to brush up on my stats. The professor put me right at ease, and made the math fun/funny and interesting. The real-world examples throughout made it clear how everything would be applied so I wasn't wondering why I was carrying out a particular process. After I got to the end of the first of four sections I sent a well-deserved short thank you to the professor!

By Pilar C M

Apr 12, 2021

I must thank the teacher, I was really afraid about statistic and maths, even I was thinking months before take this course! but now I understand I was wrong, my experience was amazing!, I am sorprised how easy the teacher could teach us all concepts and explain us so clearly with his red pen. I feel more confident with my statistical analysis skills and I want to finish this specialized program. Thank Mr. McGready!

By Earl L

Apr 18, 2021

Dr. John is an excellent teacher. He has passion for his subject and the course layout is very well organized to help online students learn abstract Biostats concepts. I've taken many online courses and his is the best by far. I highly recommend Dr. John's classes to anyone interested in learning Biostats for either personal interest, supplementing college courses, or professional growth.

By Sruthi S

Dec 17, 2019

The course was very interesting and enlightening. The foundation of the statistics was made so easy and clear by the instructor. I was handling the basic statistical analysis of few projects in public health eye-care. Now that i have a good knowledge about the risk ratios, time to event analysis, the odds of publishing a good scientific paper is 3 or 4 times more! Thanks to Coursera!

By Getrude K

Nov 6, 2023

John McGready is an excelent teacher! His step-by-step explanations in the course makes mathematics seem easy for anyone. His jokes are subtle yet warm and good. I advocate anyone who is in the field of medicine, where science is evidenced by numbers, do this course. It is simple yet challanging and is applicable to anyone who wants to learn research at a basic level. 5 stars!

By João E P

May 26, 2020

I'd like to thank to JHU for the chance to made this course, costless. The course is great, I did the Part I of Summary Statistics and I loved. Brief e rightly and with a great professor I have learned more in this weeks than 5 periods of epidemiology at my University. I did this course aind I recommended. I hope continue and will do more courses from JHU . Thanks

By John T

Apr 16, 2023

John is a wonderful teacher. I love the fact that he spends enough time explaining important concepts and giving examples. This is very critical for new concepts. I also applaud the format in which the course is set with several quizzes and the fact that the instructor provides solutions at the end of the quiz to help the student compare with their solutions.

By Ei M T

Jun 10, 2022

This course is superb. I've learned alot about biostatistics and data analysis. Even though I'm a med student, I am not acquainted with biostatistics in public health. The lecturer simply explained them in this course. So, I can easily catch up with the course and I consider that this course can be a big step for my future career in public health field.

By Adele V

Jul 8, 2020

Dr. McGready is an excellent teacher. The lectures are easy to follow and contain relevant real-world examples. The MCQs also require you to think critically. I have learned some of the concepts from my university courses, but after taking this Coursera course, I discovered some points that I missed and I'm glad that my understanding has been enhanced.