We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.
Course image
Elle O'Brien

How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge teaches you how to evaluate scientific claims critically, address experimental limitations, and recognize the roles of trust and responsibility within research.

Read more

How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge teaches you how to evaluate scientific claims critically, address experimental limitations, and recognize the roles of trust and responsibility within research.

During the course, you’ll explore the nuances of significance testing, scientific research methods, and science communication, emphasizing the importance of carefully interpreting statistical results. After learning about the scientific process, you’ll learn how science can make its way into the news cycle—and how critical context can be lost amidst the noise. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to think more critically about the media you consume and how you can view science news and information with a more nuanced perspective.

This is the second course in Understanding Data: Navigating Statistics, Science, and AI Specialization, in which you’ll gain a core foundation for statistical and data literacy and gain an understanding of the data we encounter in our everyday lives.

Enroll now

What's inside

Syllabus

Welcome, Introduction & Significance
Experimental Design
How Science Becomes News
Read more
Science and Society

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Course content aligns closely with evaluating data within a scientific context
Practice analyzing experimental limitations and how they may impact results
Develops critical thinking skills in evaluating scientific claims and assessing their credibility
Enhances understanding of how science is translated and communicated to the public
Requires some base understanding of statistics or research design

Save this course

Save How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge to your list so you can find it easily later:
Save

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge with these activities:
Review Basic Statistics Concepts
Strengthen your foundation by reviewing basic statistical concepts.
Browse courses on Statistics
Show steps
  • Review Descriptive Statistics
  • Revisit Probability Distributions
  • Practice Applying Concepts
Organize Course Notes And Assignments
Enhance your retention by organizing and reviewing course materials.
Show steps
  • Review And Organize Notes
  • Compile Assignments And Quizzes
  • Create A Study Plan
Design And Conduct A Mini-Experiment
Apply your knowledge of experimental design by designing and conducting your own mini-experiment.
Browse courses on Experimental Design
Show steps
  • Define A Research Question
  • Develop A Hypothesis
  • Design And Conduct The Experiment
  • Analyze The Results
  • Draw Conclusions And Discuss Implications
Five other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all eight activities
Complete the interactive data analysis exercises
Practice applying the statistical concepts you're learning in the course through interactive exercises.
Browse courses on Experimental Design
Show steps
  • Review the lecture material on statistical significance testing
  • Go through the interactive data analysis exercises
  • Interpret the results of the data analysis exercises
Explore Supporting Resources For Significance Testing
Deepen your understanding of significance testing by exploring additional resources and tutorials online.
Show steps
  • Identify Reputable Resources
  • Review Tutorials And Articles
  • Practice Applying Concepts
Analyze Experimental Designs Critically
Improve your ability to evaluate experimental designs and identify potential limitations.
Browse courses on Experimental Design
Show steps
  • Review Different Experimental Designs
  • Identify Strengths And Weaknesses
  • Consider Alternative Designs
Summarize Key Points From Science News Articles
Enhance your understanding of science communication by summarizing key points from scientific news articles.
Browse courses on Science Communication
Show steps
  • Read And Analyze Articles
  • Identify Main Points And Supporting Evidence
  • Write A Clear And Concise Summary
Read "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre
Expand your understanding of the role of trust and responsibility within scientific research.
Show steps
  • Read And Analyze The Book
  • Identify Key Concepts And Arguments
  • Reflect On The Implications For Science Communication

Career center

Learners who complete How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reading list

We haven't picked any books for this reading list yet.

Share

Help others find this course page by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Similar courses

Here are nine courses similar to How Science Turns Data Into Knowledge.
Science Literacy
Most relevant
Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is...
How to Describe Data
Discovering Science: Science Writing
AI in Architectural Design
Methods and Statistics in Social Science - Final Research...
Science Communication: Communicating Trustworthy...
Interpreting Data Using Statistical Models in R
Decoding AI: A Deep Dive into AI Models and Predictions
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2024 OpenCourser