Biostatistics - online course recommendations?

[entresuspiros]

Greetings!

I'm interested in taking Biostatistics, as I didn't take any statistics courses as an undergraduate/graduate student. I looked into the Harvard Extension course (where I'm taking my pre-reqs), but I don't know anyone who's taken it, and the few online reviews I found for the course instructor were not encouraging.

Has anyone taken this course online? If so, how would you rate your overall experience? Would you recommend it, or would you suggest I take an in-person lecture course instead?

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

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[SnakeOilForSale]

Too lazy to find it, but a study showed that people who perform strongly in academics perform the same in online classes while those who are average or below perform even worse. For this reason, I would only reccomend an online course if you are strong student. That sounds like the case. Take professor ratings with a grain of salt, it is mostly disgruntled people who write them. I think either option would be fine for you.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Do you have to take something formally for credit/grade or are you just intellectually curious and want to learn the info?

Because if it's the latter there are some other options available to you.

For instants Johns Hopkins has quite a few online biostats options in open courseware format that you can go through to learn what you want/need at your own pace without having to pay money or worry about tanking your GPA.

I will say I think knowing some biostats is very useful in medicine and healthcare, even if you aren't doing research or anything.

 

[entresuspiros]

Too lazy to find it, but a study showed that people who perform strongly in academics perform the same in online classes while those who are average or below perform even worse. For this reason, I would only reccomend an online course if you are strong student. That sounds like the case. Take professor ratings with a grain of salt, it is mostly disgruntled people who write them. I think either option would be fine for you.

Yes, I plan on working hard to ensure I master the material - and get a good grade, of course. I've never taken an online class so I just want to get a sense of what my options are. Also, it would be nice to decrease my commute time (traveling around Boston by bike and public transportation during the winter is a pain).

Do you have to take something formally for credit/grade or are you just intellectually curious and want to learn the info?

I need to take it for credit because many schools nowadays either require it or strongly recommend it, but I also want to take it because of useful it is within the medical field, as you said.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Yes, I plan on working hard to ensure I master the material - and get a good grade, of course. I've never taken an online class so I just want to get a sense of what my options are. Also, it would be nice to decrease my commute time (traveling around Boston by bike and public transportation during the winter is a pain).

I need to take it for credit because many schools nowadays either require it or strongly recommend it, but I also want to take it because of useful it is within the medical field, as you said.

Have you ever taken a stats course before?

 

[ridethecliche]

Have you ever taken a stats course before?

OP Says that they haven't in the first post...

To the OP, I think something on coursera would fit your needs well. I want to do a class they teach on R. Some of them offer a certificate of completion, although you probably won't get a grade. I haven't looked into that last part though.

I do some basic stats for publications and not knowing how to program with them is starting to get to be a pain in the ass. I want to learn either R or Stata so I can use something going forward. It's such an incredibly important skill to have as a researcher.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Then taking stats online is a bad plan...(sorry I missed it in the first one, just skimmed and saw they had never taken anything online)
Stats is not math, it's an application of math, being good at algebra or calc doesn't mean you'll be good at stats. Online classes generally mean you teach yourself, and with stats, that can be difficult. I would NOT recommend taking stats as a first online class. Having done many courses online, and having taken stats (biostats and regular stats) twice online (got As for two different courses) I would say it probably isn't the best idea.

 

[ridethecliche]

Then taking stats online is a bad plan...(sorry I missed it in the first one, just skimmed and saw they had never taken anything online)
Stats is not math, it's an application of math, being good at algebra or calc doesn't mean you'll be good at stats. Online classes generally mean you teach yourself, and with stats, that can be difficult. I would NOT recommend taking stats as a first online class. Having done many courses online, and having taken stats (biostats and regular stats) twice online (got As for two different courses) I would say it probably isn't the best idea.

Stats is a joke of a math class... As long as the online course uses good examples and/or has a good textbook or reading, it's not that hard to figure things out.

 

[Snakes]

I need to take it for credit because many schools nowadays either require it or strongly recommend it, but I also want to take it because of useful it is within the medical field, as you said.

If you don't need to take it for credit, there is a good Biostats course about to start and it's a MOOC--so...free.

To the OP, I think something on coursera would fit your needs well. I want to do a class they teach on R.

We may be thinking of the same class. I thought about enrolling myself in this one. Starts 11/24 and taught by Hopkins.

https://www.coursera.org/course/biostats Part 2 follows in January.

There's also this one that starts today. https://www.coursera.org/course/casebasedbiostat

EDITED TO ADD: You need to have taken calculus as a pre-req to the biostats boot camp course taught by Hopkins.

 

[ridethecliche]

Ugh, yes, that's the one. I bailed on doing it last time because of med school apps, but I might be out of excuses now... Crap.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Stats is a joke of a math class... As long as the online course uses good examples and/or has a good textbook or reading, it's not that hard to figure things out.

It depends on the person, having been a TA for it, while one person may get it and it comes easily, another struggles and cannot get it without help. It is very similar to how some people love organic chemistry and do very well in it, and some people do very well in inorganic chemistry and struggle in Ochem...

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm assuming that said person has taken math up to or past calculus. Stats is so much more basic than that.

 

[wholeheartedly]

I'm assuming that said person has taken math up to or past calculus. Stats is so much more basic than that.

Yeah, but sometimes it's just not that intuitive for people. I know quite a few people who did well in math classes and struggled to wrap their heads around stats. How it's taught and the expectations of the instructors can make a bik difference as well.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

WH, thank you for seconding what I said previously. Stats is an APPLICATION of math, it isn't math. If you can do algebra you can plug numbers into equations. It's knowing which equations, how to use them, when to apply which rules to which types of data that is challenging. I know people who can do calculus in their sleep, it doesn't make them physicists.

 

[ridethecliche]

Yeah, but sometimes it's just not that intuitive for people. I know quite a few people who did well in math classes and struggled to wrap their heads around stats. How it's taught and the expectations of the instructors can make a bik difference as well.

Which is why a good textbook helps if you're self teaching. The internet is ablaze with all this stuff as well.

WH, thank you for seconding what I said previously. Stats is an APPLICATION of math, it isn't math. If you can do algebra you can plug numbers into equations. It's knowing which equations, how to use them, when to apply which rules to which types of data that is challenging. I know people who can do calculus in their sleep, it doesn't make them physicists.

You just described every math/physics/chemistry class ever.

Basic stats doesn't even require calculus. Taking an online course through coursera isn't the same as doing it yourself. The lecturers are very good.

Most of all, the internet is AMAZING* for stats resources.

*I thought we had to all caps a word in our post.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

The Internet was amazing in 2010 too, doesn't change the fact that for some people it's hard. Not saying a person can't take it online, they can, I'm saying for a first online class, I wouldn't pick it.

 

[ridethecliche]

You could make that argument for just about any class though.

/shrug

 

[entresuspiros]

OP here,

Apologies for replying late, it's been a busy week. Thanks to those that suggested Coursera courses, but I'm interested in taking the course for credit. Still, your suggestion might be a good introduction; I'll check it out sometime.

I took Calculus in 2004 so I remember none of it. I might have to retake it as some schools I want to apply to require it; however, is it absolutely necessary that I take it before Biostatistics? If so then I wouldn't be able to take the latter until Spring 2016.

 

[ridethecliche]

I think you can get credit for the coursera course.