Overview
A comprehensive online introduction to quantitative analysis for business originally designed for incoming MBA students at Harvard Business School. The module is presented as if you are a consultant to a multifaceted resort hotel business. A total of eight units are covered:
Unit 1: Overview and Introduction
Unit 2: Data Description
Unit 3: Sampling and Estimation
Unit 4: Hypothesis Testing
Unit 5: Regression Basics
Unit 6: Multiple Regression
Unit 7: Decision Analysis I
Unit 8: Decision Analysis II
Requirements for INSC 60010 Course
Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 cover the foundations of “Descriptive Statistics” and “Sample data-based Inference.” These are essential for the course INSC 60010. Satisfactory completion of these modules is a mandatory prerequisite.
Units 5 and 6 cover the basics of “Regression Analysis” which is the primary focus of INSC 60010 course. These two units will be used as required course material to supplement the INSC 60010 course materials. Familiarization of the material covered in Unit 5 prior to the start of INSC 60010 course is strongly recommended.
Units 7 and 8 cover the basics of “Decision Analysis.” While this topic is useful for business students, it will not be covered in INSC 60010 course. Completion of these units is optional.
Assessment Examinations
The course includes three comprehensive multiple-choice examinations, which are accessible through the Assessment Tests icon. Each exam offers comprehensive coverage of the topics in the course. These exams will be used to assess your understanding of the material covered in the course.
Each of the three exams has four sections. Listed below are the topics covered by each section of the exams and the corresponding questions for each section for each of the three exams:
Exam Section |
Course Coverage |
Questions Pre-Test |
Questions Post-Test 1 |
Questions Post-Test 2 |
Completion |
1 | Units 2 and 3 (Sections 1-2) |
1-10 | 1-10 | 1-10 | Required |
2 | Units 3 and 4 (Sections 3-6) |
11-23 | 11-22 | 11-22 | Required |
3 | Units 5 and 6 | 24-35 | 23-36 | 23-35 | Recommended |
4 | Units 7 and 8 | 36-43 | 37-44 | 36-43 | Optional |
On the Assessment Tests screen you will find a FAQ link that brings up relevant information on the tests. All of the resources of the course are available at any time during the test. Thus, the exams are “open-book” in the sense that you have access to all course materials and resources while taking the exam. In addition, you can open an Excel workbook, statistical software, or calculator at any time during the test to do additional computations.
Satisfactory Completion of the Course
You can work through all the material and then take an exam or you can work on each exam section separately and complete the questions for that section before moving on to the next section if you prefer. The sooner you get started the better. This module should be completed before July 1, 2022. Also, be sure to allow time in case you do not pass an exam on the first try and have to take another exam (i.e., get a score of at least 70% in the relevant sections on one of the two post-assessment tests).
Help
If you experience technical difficulty, you can contact Tech Help: 1-800-810-8858 or techhelp@hbsp.harvard.edu
Assistance
There are help functions (glossary, frequently asked questions, etc.) built into the software that should provide answers to most questions and directions on use.
Technical Requirements
- Go to https://hbsp.harvard.edu/tech-specs/
- In the Search box, enter Quantitative Methods Online Course and Sections.
- You will see the System Check Report. Make sure that your system checks out okay.
Estimated Time to Complete
The amount of time taken to complete the course is heavily dependent upon your previous exposure to the material. Students who have studied most of the concepts previously report that it took them about 20 hours to review the material and check their comprehension by completing the course exercises. Those with little or no exposure to the concepts report that the course took 40 to 50 hours (or more) to go through the material carefully, learn the concepts, and to complete all of the exercises (including practicing the use of Excel for quantitative analysis). You can stop at any point and return later to the point where you left off.