Econometrics and Statistics in Modern Business

Business Statistics

The first course in our statistics sequence, Business Statistics is designed with two broad objectives in mind. First, it is a “ground up” statistics class, designed to be accessible to students with no prior knowledge of statistics. However, it is also designed to give students background in data analysis, probability, and statistics sufficient for all but a handful of upper level elective courses at the Booth.

To accomplish these goals, the course begins with data analysis and probability, building toward statistical inference and eventually culminating with linear regression in the final weeks of the quarter. Much of the material is similar to a college-level statistics class, but the pace is considerably faster and the emphasis is on understanding over memorization of formulas.

Business Statistics is concept-based rather than case-based. It is both impossible and counterproductive to introduce (or to ask students to memorize) all of the wide variety of techniques and terminology used in different fields of business to solve many different problems. Instead, we focus on unifying these techniques around a set of core quantitative tools and concepts. Students leave Business Statistics with an understanding of the key elements in statistical analysis, providing a robust conceptual foundation that enables students to understand, apply, and interpret the results of statistical techniques in any business environment.