Data analysis is critical for evidence-based decision-making and policy development. For those who lead or inform decision-making, fundamental skills in basic statistics and empirical analysis are vital for drawing relevant conclusions from public data.
This eight-week course teaches you the basics of modern statistics and the analysis tools and techniques used by social scientists to support policy development. It covers hypothesis testing and multivariate regression models, and offers opportunities for you to become familiar with conducting statistical analysis through the construction of scripts using R. It’s designed for beginners with no prior coding or analytics experience, as you will establish a foundational background in statistical analysis. Individuals with prior mathematics and statistics experience are more likely to grasp the concepts in this course with ease.
This course is offered individually, or as part of the three-course Data Analytics for Behavioural Insights certificate program. You will receive a certificate for each individual course you successfully complete, and then a certificate upon successful completion of the entire program.
- Policymakers: Do you develop policies for any public service sector (e.g., health care or municipalities)? Understand how modern data analytics techniques can better inform your decisions.
- Public servants, non-profit and community leaders: Are you working in public service or leading a business improvement area, non-profit, or public office? Gain behavioural insights that can be used to inform your work, improve your community, and increase your chances of success when competing for funding.
- Public service organizations: Do you primarily serve the public sector or the general public? Elevate your understanding about your customers and partners and learn to make more informed decisions that better serve public interest.
- Practice hands-on statistical and regression analysis techniques and apply them to public policy.
- Understand basic statistics, hypothesis testing, and multivariate regression models and how they can be used for policy development.
- Install R and get a step-by-step introduction on how to use it to run simple commands.
- Use R to gain knowledge about introductory methods of coding and statistics.
- Instruction from professional data experts in a course designed by University of Waterloo faculty.
- Live Q&A sessions via Zoom every Thursday from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. ET (also available as recordings).
- Opportunities to discuss your learning with others in the course.
- Curated case studies and content based on Canadian public data.
- Five to eight hours of online learning and independent work each week (including live Q&A sessions, graded assignments, and activities). Note: Individual time commitments may vary, depending on your prior knowledge of key course concepts.
- Regular quizzes to test your knowledge throughout the course.
- Capstone project that integrates your learning.
- Attendance requirement: It is highly recommended that participants attend live Q&A sessions, but it is not required. Sessions will be recorded and available for all participants to view.
Receive a certificate from the University of Waterloo
Upon successful completion of this program, you will receive a professional education certificate from the University of Waterloo.
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System requirements
- Zoom is used for drop-in sessions.
- Slack is used for class discussions.
- R/RStudio (software you are required to install)
- Please note: You must have administrator rights to the computer you will use for this course in order to install and configure the necessary tools. If you plan to use a shared device or an employer-issued machine, make sure that you have the necessary permissions.
Andrés Arcila-Vasquez, PhD
Lead Data Scientist, AB InBev
Lecturer, Economics
Andrés Arcila-Vasquez is senior research data scientist at AB InBev. His work specializes in economic experimentation and causal inference, applying advanced statistical and econometrics techniques like Randomized Control Trials, Matching Estimators, Difference-in-Difference, and Instrumental Variables to estimate average treatment effects of policy and business interventions.
Prior to joining AB InBev, Arcila-Vasquez worked at TD Bank as a quantitative associate in the Risk Management department developing, validating, and managing statistical models to estimate probability of defaults. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Waterloo, specializing in policy evaluation and applied economics. He is also a sessional lecturer with Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts, where he has taught undergraduate and graduate economics and econometrics courses.
Elias Puurunen
President, Northern HCI Solutions
Elias Puurunen is the president of Northern HCI Solutions. He architects big data solutions for Fortune 500 companies, governments, and startups. His data warehouses enable Canada's top high-performance building researchers to produce new electric grid guidance to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining quality of life.
At the height of the 2020 COVID pandemic, Puurunen’s firm designed a personal protective equipment (PPE) test program for the National Research Council of Canada. This program allowed researchers to perform rapid quality assurance verification on PPE. In 2019, Puurunen developed the Coding for Public Policy course (PS 627) for the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service program. He is also a Microsoft certified solutions expert in data management and analytics, CompTIA certified technical trainer, and holds his Honours Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.
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