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Back to Probability and Statistics: To p or not to p?

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Probability and Statistics: To p or not to p? by University of London

4.6
stars
1,431 ratings

About the Course

We live in an uncertain and complex world, yet we continually have to make decisions in the present with uncertain future outcomes. Indeed, we should be on the look-out for "black swans" - low-probability high-impact events. To study, or not to study? To invest, or not to invest? To marry, or not to marry? While uncertainty makes decision-making difficult, it does at least make life exciting! If the entire future was known in advance, there would never be an element of surprise. Whether a good future or a bad future, it would be a known future. In this course we consider many useful tools to deal with uncertainty and help us to make informed (and hence better) decisions - essential skills for a lifetime of good decision-making. Key topics include quantifying uncertainty with probability, descriptive statistics, point and interval estimation of means and proportions, the basics of hypothesis testing, and a selection of multivariate applications of key terms and concepts seen throughout the course....

Top reviews

TS

Apr 30, 2020

I would like to thank Dr. James Abdey for his wonderful explanation of probability and statistics in a short time. I definitely learnt many things which I can make use in my further courses. Thank you

NS

Apr 22, 2021

James Abdey is an excellent lecturer. He explains clearly while using a lot of examples from real life applications. I am considering to read his PhD thesis (even though I don't have insomnia :-))

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26 - 50 of 470 Reviews for Probability and Statistics: To p or not to p?

By Hatem E

Jul 23, 2022

The course covers a lot of topics in a superficial way.

I think the course should give more:

1- Practical examples.

2- Mathematical details

Even if for less topics.

By Marcos I P

Jan 26, 2021

o professor é muito bom, a sua didatica e os exemplos. tambem. mas a plataforma nao recomendo. na primeira tarefa que passara o exericio estava em Latex, poderia esta em um pdf ou txt. se perdeu tempo decifrando o que era pra fazer. outro problema é o certificado que nao contem a data do inicio e fim do curso nem o numero de horas. infelizmente mesmo com varios contatos nao consegui nem ao menos receber um email com essas informações. infelizmente essa irredutibilidade da politica da plataforma faz com que eu nao possa mais realizar cursos com eles. tenho outro que gostaria muito de fazer, até ja esta pago mas vou avaliar muito bem. fazemos cursos para aprender. no meu caso fui liberado do trabalho para me aperfeiçoar, mas eles querem algum documento que comprove a realização do curso. super recomendo o curso e o professor mas a plataforma nao, serios problemas com o certificado, so irredutiveis em apresentar informações adicionais, como dia do inicio do curso e dia final, assim como o numero de horas. o curso é muito bom, mas a plataforma nunca mais pretendo usar enquanto tiverem essa politica.

By Anthony B

Jun 8, 2020

It's poorly done. The transcript of each video does not match the video. The professor continually uses mathematical notation, which may be fine for discussing statistics with statisticians. However, for students learning statistics, it's over the top. Just say "mean" instead of "X bar." I am a firm believer that if you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it. This course was not explained simply and gives few real-world examples. It's an academic course by a poor teacher who speaks in mathematical notation instead of plain English. Look elsewhere if you really want to learn statistics.

By 2K19/EE/184 P J

Jan 7, 2021

Waste of time completely, no mathematical problems no such things, all this guy does is give lectures. No problem solving, nothing at all.

By Daniel O

Mar 10, 2020

As simple intro is fine.

He pretends he understands the Taleb's Incerto, but he doesn't.

By Gayathri M

Jun 17, 2020

Very difficult

By Darren W

Mar 10, 2020

The contents of the course is so very intuitive to comprehend. not that it is an inherent trait of the subject matter, but it has been Dr. James Abdey who has made the teaching vivid and lively, filled with devised instances and examples which help students like myself to gain deeper insights into the related concepts. Moreover, the connections between the related concepts, statistical techniques and the real-world scenarios are presented more than successfully.

Though the course may have been designed as introductory and it might not be feasible to present the abstract part of the subject in greater detail given the duration, I would still like to suggest that more theoretical aspects of the subject be exposed if possible.

In general, I, as a newbie in probability and statistics, am very much benefited by the course. Thank you.

By Daniel T C

Jan 27, 2021

I found the course to be an excellent introduction/refresher in statistics. The focus on hypothesis testing was especially helpful. The lectures were very good introductions to each topic area and the written materials accompanying each lecture were well done and helpful study tools.

There was some confusion with the first if the two home work assignments. I spent several days trying to learn the LATEX math language program, which turned out to be unnecessary. It created enough confusion that I was contemplating withdrawing from the course. I am glad I didn't take that action.

The quality of the presentations and written materials made this one the the best MOOC's I have ever taken. It is worth the time to anyone wanting to learn about statistics in an interesting and relatively painless way.

By Joao C

Jan 27, 2021

The course “To p or not to p” is excellent.

The videos are excellent. Dr James Abdey manages to capture the students’ attention, relating the statistics with recent events that marked the news, and balances it with humor. The needed equations are kept extremely simple.

The selection of covered subjects is excellent since. It is wide and will be of interest to a wide range of students.

The use of the Monty Hall problem in the very beginning is masterful since it defies intuition and keeps the student glued until its discussion some lessons ahead.

The notes are very complete. They will help as a guide in the future.

Congratulations.

By Madhu N

May 30, 2020

For an introductory course in Probability & Statistics, this course ticks all the boxes. It introduces to majority of the concepts, of course without going too much into details. But this course ignites the curiosity to learn more in various fields, such as probability distributions, descriptive statistics concepts, decision tree, Monte Carlo simulation, etc. And finally, a big thanks to Dr. James Abdey for his efforts in delivering this course. He must be popular among his students in University of London.

By Javier c

Jan 24, 2021

Very clear explanations that helped me clarify many concepts.

As a sugestion, although the course aims at a diverse range of audiences, it would benefit if the explanations went deeper into the maths, in the same way as the notes do. Coming from an engineering background, I found useful having the "Advanced Engineering Mathematics" book by E. Kreyszig as a companion.

Also, I could benefit from a suggestion of possible courses to dive deeper into the subject.

By Richard S

Jun 14, 2020

Very enjoyable course. Dr Abdey is an excellent lecturer, very engaging with humor to boot. Clearly very passionate about the subject. Especially liked that he tied course material to real world problems and related to current events (e.g. Brexit).

The written material made it possible to listen to the lectures more closely. Suggest learners do the reading prior to the lecturers. The assignments were very straightforward and useful to reinforce the lectures.

By Nadia S

Apr 29, 2020

Dr. James Abdey has a great way of explaining new concepts, I found in most statistics courses lecturers assume that students know the basics, so I get lost quickly. But in this course, I could keep up as everything was explained clearly with supporting examples. I have to say in the first week I wasn't sure I am disliking probability and statistics any less. But by the second week, I started to see the light and enjoy the topics. Thank you Dr. Abdey.

By stephane d

Nov 22, 2020

James Abdey is a great teacher!

I'd be interested in taking other classes from him in the future. A specialization for more detailed analysis (confidence intervals, degree of freedom,...)

I'm just disappointed with the quality of the quizzes (LaTeX codes). Some problems were already reported in the forum a year ago and nothing has changed. It would be useful to improve the quality proactively and take into account the remarks on the forum.

By Tarit G

Jul 4, 2020

It was an excellent course. I have learned a lot in this course. This course covers basic ideas in probability and statistics and also helps to make a decision after calculating risk. This also covers Monte Carlo and decision tree and hypothesis testing. The instructor was so engaging that it seems like listening to stories. I am thankful to the instructor, the team who made this course available and the University of London.

By Ye J P

Jul 24, 2021

Dr. Abdey's lecture styles are phenomenal! This is one of the few courses where I watched every single video. This course is an excellent refresher on descriptive statistics. inferential statistics, and probability. Many topics are still left to be pursued following the course, but this course has gotten me excited about statistics. I highly recommend this course before diving into more advanced topics in statistics.

By Tatsiana L

Jan 25, 2022

I enjoyed this course so much, for the beginner, that has no idea what statistics and theory of probability are, it is a great choice to start learning this course. The professor explains in clear way difficult theorems with lots of exapmles. Moreover, you have a chance to watch lectures and then read transcript with even more information that was in lectures. I strongly recommend this course and give it 5 stars.

By Jiban M

Feb 10, 2021

To 's' or not to 's',

That is the question,

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous 'Probability',

Or take arms against a sea of 'Statistics',

And learning conquer them.

Thank you Dr. Abdey for creating an interest into the subject. Although I have learnt merely the tip of the iceberg of Probability and Statistics, I am keen to go forward........ miles to go before I sleep.

By Deepsagar V

Nov 8, 2022

Through out the course, I felt connected with the concepts and real lives example given by Dr.James Abdey. Indeed it was a great learning session which clarified so many doubts of statistics and probability. I very much understood the concept of uncertainty and how with the help of subject, we can try to predict . Thank you Coursera for this amazing experience. Looking forward for new courses.

By Manash C

Jun 21, 2020

Dr James Abdey is not only a superb statistics instructor but a passionate story teller in the field of Statistics.

Professor, you just rekindled my interest to continue my exploration of this subject further. I would look forward to more courses done by you on this MOOC platform and elsewhere. It was lovely to be your online student through these 6 weeks.

Thank you so much once again!!

By Edi W

Sep 28, 2020

The explaination on first 5 chapter is great and enough for newbie or intermediate person who wants to learn data science (probability and statistics). However, the last chapter (6) is just quick through and just to allow you get some new knowledge aside basic probability and statistics,

Still, for a quick refresher or first time learner, this course is better than my uni's course.

By Alex C

Jun 29, 2020

This was a really nice course, bringing in simple analogies from the real world of finance or legal to highlight points. I found this very interesting rather than a dull pure math perspective. It kept my interest. The lecturer was also very engaging and enthusiastic. I would happily do another course if it was offered in applied p or not p :-) Or deeper in the current topic.

By Kim R

Jul 15, 2020

This is a gentle and accurate introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics. AP Statistics students would be well served by working through the course prior to their AP Stats course. It will provide participants with the basics of working with statistics in real world settings, while allowing them to dabble in some numerical analysis of data. Excellent course!

By Krishnendu S

Jun 5, 2020

The course is very well designed and the passion of Dr Abdey about the subject and teaching really inspiring. The class notes are also very handy. I must recommendation course to take before starting the journey in the world of statistics. Thank you Coursera and the University of London and obviously Dr Abdey for designing such a course with so much minute details.

By Edmund E

Sep 27, 2021

The course provides an excellent conceptual starting point for statistics. The lectures are well explained, and the materials are clearly written with focus on the important concepts. The only issue is the formatting in the questions attached to the course. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the material rather than simply calculate solutions.