Jhpiego Resource Package for Journal Manuscript Development
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Tool 42: Online Resources for Data Analysis
If you are interested in learning more about biostatistics and how to use statistical software packages
to analyze your data, you can turn to a wide variety of free resources and affordable courses available
online. The section below lists general courses on statistics and data analysis. Following that is a list
of resources that can help you learn how to use a statistical software package, including Statistical
Analysis System (SAS), Stata, and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
GENERAL COURSES ON STATISTICS AND DATA ANALYSIS
1. Coursera
https://www.coursera.org
Coursera offers many relevant online courses for free. Time requirements and assignments are
specified on the course pages and often require 8–10 hours per week. Courses include online
interaction with instructors and other students, and a certificate of completion may be earned.
Courses are available on:

Epidemiology (https://www.coursera.org/instructor/~695)

Biostatistics (https://www.coursera.org/courses?orderby=upcoming&search=biostatistics)

Geospatial mapping (https://www.coursera.org/course/maps)

Social network analysis (https://www.coursera.org/course/sna)
2. iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com
iTunes offers another platform for delivering online courses. To find courses, first download the free
iTunes software, click on the iTunes store, and then click on the iTunesU tab. One example of the
courses available is an Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis from the University of Michigan.
(https://itunes.apple.com/us/course/introduction-to-statistics/id577098650)
3. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.jhsph.edu/
A wide variety of public health courses and materials are available free from this website, and
biostatistics is a core topic (http://ocw.jhsph.edu/index.cfm/go/find.browse#topics/topicID/5/).
These free, brief, self-paced courses may be particularly useful if you want a refresher course on a
subject you studied previously. No course credit is available through OpenCourseWare. Among the
many courses offered are introductory courses in biostatistics and epidemiology.
4. MOOC List
http://www.mooc-list.com/
This website offers a comprehensive and searchable list of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
that are offered free via the Internet. They are similar to university courses, but generally do not offer
academic credit. The list includes courses from a variety of web-based platforms sponsored by
various universities. You can browse upcoming courses listed under Statistics & Data Analysis or
search for specific courses.
Copyright 2014 by Jhpiego
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Jhpiego Resource Package for Journal Manuscript Development
Support Materials
RESOURCES FOR STATISTICAL SOFTWARE PACKAGES
1. Princeton University
http://www.princeton.edu/~otorres/Stata/statnotes
This webpage includes tutorials on conducting regression analysis with Stata.
2. Stata
http://www.stata.com
The Stata website offers many useful resources for learning and problem-solving, including the
following:

Self-paced online courses cost about $100; they require some Internet connectivity but not a
constant connection. Instructors are available to answer questions via email.
(http://www.stata.com/netcourse/)

Links to a wide variety of user-written and official resources for learning Stata
(http://www.stata.com/links/resources-for-learning-stata/)

Frequently asked questions (http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/)

Archives of the Statalist listserv (http://www.stata.com/statalist/archive/)
3. UCLA Institute for Digital Research and Education (IDRE)
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/
The website links out to a wide variety of resources—including tutorials, free online courses, and
examples of statistical analysis techniques—that are designed to help students learn and use statistical
software packages. There are webpages devoted to Stata, SPSS, SAS, and R. One especially useful
webpage is designed to help you choose the correct statistical test to use in each software package,
based on the nature of the dependent and independent variables
(http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/mult_pkg/whatstat/).
4. University of Wisconsin—Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC)
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/sscc/pubs/stat.htm
The SSCC offers a wealth of materials on statistical computing, including step-by-step tutorials for
three different software packages: Stata, SPSS, and SAS.
5. WikiBooks
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Using_SPSS_and_PASW
This free book offers a “rudimentary introduction” to SPSS.
6. YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com)
Many free tutorials demonstrating Stata and SPSS and illustrating concepts in statistics have been
posted to YouTube.
Copyright 2014 by Jhpiego
Do Not Copy