Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations

Spreadsheet tools like Excel are an essential tool for working with data - whether for data analytics, business, marketing, or research. This course is designed to give you a basic working knowledge of Excel and how to use it for analyzing data. This course is suitable for those who are interested in pursuing a career in data analysis or data science, as well as anyone looking to use Excel for data analysis in their own domain. No prior experience with spreadsheets or coding is required - all you need is a device with a modern web browser and the ability to create a Microsoft account to access Excel online at no cost. If you have a desktop version of Excel, you can also easily follow along with the course. Throughout this course, you'll gain valuable experience working with data sets and spreadsheets. We'll start by introducing you to spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, and show you how to load data from multiple formats. From there, you'll learn how to perform basic data wrangling and cleansing tasks using functions, and expand your knowledge of data analysis through the use of filtering, sorting, and pivot tables. There is a strong focus on practice and applied learning in this course. With each lab, you'll have the opportunity to manipulate data and gain hands-on experience using Excel. You'll learn how to clean and format your data efficiently, and convert it into a pivot table to make it more organized and readable. The final project will allow you to showcase your newly acquired data analysis skills by working with real data sets and spreadsheets. By the end of this course, you'll have a solid foundation in using Excel for data analysis. You'll have worked with multiple data sets and spreadsheets, and will have the skills and knowledge needed to effectively clean and analyze data without having to learn any code. So let's get started!

Learn how to create data visualizations and dashboards using spreadsheets and analytics tools. This course covers some of the first steps for telling a compelling story with your data using various types of charts and graphs. You'll learn the basics of visualizing data with Excel and IBM Cognos Analytics without having to write any code. You'll start by creating simple charts in Excel such as line, pie and bar charts. You will then create more advanced visualizations with Treemaps, Scatter Charts, Histograms, Filled Map Charts, and Sparklines. Next you’ll also work with the Excel PivotChart feature as well as assemble several visualizations in an Excel dashboard. This course also teaches you how to use business intelligence (BI) tools like Cognos Analytics to create interactive dashboards. By the end of the course you will have an appreciation for the key role that data visualizations play in communicating your data analysis findings, and the ability to effectively create them. Throughout this course there will be numerous hands-on labs to help you develop practical experience for working with Excel and Cognos. There is also a final project in which you’ll create a set of data visualizations and an interactive dashboard to add to your portfolio, which you can share with peers, professional communities or prospective employers.

This course is the final step in the Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization. It contains a graded final examination that covers content from three courses: Introduction to Data Analytics, Excel Basics for Data Analysis, and Data Visualization and Dashboards with Excel and Cognos. From the Introduction to Data Analytics course, your understanding will be assessed on topics like the data ecosystem and the fundamentals of data analysis, covering tools for data gathering and data mining. Moving on to the Excel Basics for Data Analysis course, expect questions focusing on the use of Excel spreadsheets in data analytics, proficiency in data cleansing and wrangling, and skills in working with pivot tables. Finally, from the Data Visualization and Dashboards with Excel and Cognos course, you will demonstrate your knowledge of IBM Cognos basics and your ability to use Excel for effective data visualization.