Back to Bayesian Statistics: Techniques and Models
University of California, Santa Cruz

Bayesian Statistics: Techniques and Models

This is the second of a two-course sequence introducing the fundamentals of Bayesian statistics. It builds on the course Bayesian Statistics: From Concept to Data Analysis, which introduces Bayesian methods through use of simple conjugate models. Real-world data often require more sophisticated models to reach realistic conclusions. This course aims to expand our “Bayesian toolbox” with more general models, and computational techniques to fit them. In particular, we will introduce Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, which allow sampling from posterior distributions that have no analytical solution. We will use the open-source, freely available software R (some experience is assumed, e.g., completing the previous course in R) and JAGS (no experience required). We will learn how to construct, fit, assess, and compare Bayesian statistical models to answer scientific questions involving continuous, binary, and count data. This course combines lecture videos, computer demonstrations, readings, exercises, and discussion boards to create an active learning experience. The lectures provide some of the basic mathematical development, explanations of the statistical modeling process, and a few basic modeling techniques commonly used by statisticians. Computer demonstrations provide concrete, practical walkthroughs. Completion of this course will give you access to a wide range of Bayesian analytical tools, customizable to your data.

Status: R Programming
Status: Probability Distribution
IntermediateCourse30 hours

Featured reviews

AT

5.0Reviewed May 2, 2018

Outstanding, Excellent, Must do for statistician. I'm from Civil Engg Background easily capable to learn the course

CW

5.0Reviewed Nov 2, 2020

I really enjoy taking this course. I have taken Bayesian course before so this is more like a systematic review for me and I still learned a lot!

ML

5.0Reviewed Dec 1, 2024

Very good instructor, knowledgeable and thorough, touching the right level of details with big picture in mind, and providing practical guide for hands-on Bayesian data analysis.

KD

5.0Reviewed Jan 9, 2020

Excellent teacher and very well taught. Right amount of theory and programming combination. Made the subject easy to learn. Enjoyed it very much. Thank you very much.

CB

5.0Reviewed Feb 15, 2021

The course was really interesting and the codes were easy to follow. Although I did take the previous course for this series, I still found it hard to grasp the concepts immediately.

DA

5.0Reviewed Jan 10, 2018

The best course I had in statistics. unlike many other courses the instructor does not ignore the underlying mathematics of the codes.

IK

5.0Reviewed Aug 27, 2024

This course seems to cover its material clearly, and the material is explained clearly. The quiz/homeworks help to reinforce the lectures.

JH

5.0Reviewed Nov 1, 2017

This course is excellent! The material is very very interesting, the videos are of high quality and the quizzes and project really helps you getting it together. I really enjoyed it!!!

RR

5.0Reviewed Sep 1, 2020

One of the best practical math courses present in coursera. Loved the course and will surely look upto the next course eagerly.

AD

5.0Reviewed Aug 22, 2023

I loved the structure very much. At the end we have to do a project and review peer project. This idea is very good. The teaching is also very through and structured.

MV

5.0Reviewed Jun 19, 2018

Brilliant course! Very well organized and with useful study cases.Suggestion: It would be nice to have the same examples in Python using, e.g. Stan or PyMC.

BA

5.0Reviewed Jul 8, 2018

This is a great course for an introduction to Bayesian Statistics class. Prior knowledge of the use of R can be very helpful. Thanks for such a wonderful course!!!

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 171

Jonathan Bechtel
5.0
Reviewed Jan 2, 2019
Vladimir Yashin
5.0
Reviewed Nov 11, 2017
Sandra Moen
2.0
Reviewed May 14, 2018
Brian Knight
5.0
Reviewed Apr 2, 2019
Toshiaki Ogata
5.0
Reviewed Nov 24, 2020
Milo Ventimiglia
5.0
Reviewed Jun 19, 2018
zhen wang
4.0
Reviewed Jul 28, 2017
Igor Kuksov
5.0
Reviewed Jun 13, 2017
Krishna Devarasetty
5.0
Reviewed Jan 10, 2020
Eugene Brusilovskiy
4.0
Reviewed Jun 26, 2019
Sathishkumar Reddy Pinnapureddy
1.0
Reviewed May 21, 2018
Jiasun
1.0
Reviewed Jul 20, 2019
Shane Hubler
5.0
Reviewed Jul 13, 2023
Paolo Pedinotti
5.0
Reviewed Mar 26, 2022
Cameron Knott
5.0
Reviewed Jun 7, 2017
Tracey
5.0
Reviewed Oct 7, 2020
Georgy Meshkov
5.0
Reviewed Apr 1, 2019
Benjamin Osafo Agyare
5.0
Reviewed Jul 8, 2018
Seema Kanani
5.0
Reviewed Nov 18, 2019
Arnaud Dion
5.0
Reviewed Dec 8, 2018