While studying at the University of the Andes, I took an incredible course in Quantitative methods (largely: statistics). This course opened my mind to the very interesting and extremely applicable field that governs so much of our lives.
As the below comic shows, statistics is at the root of so many different fields.
Throughout my classwork, I focused on the following key areas:
- Statistical reasoning – how to read between the headlines and the myriad data sources to figure out what the truth is and how to measure it.
- Scientific method – as an engineer, I knew the scientific method before going into the program, but this course helped establish my skeptical skillset and recognize common pitfalls
- Projects – demographic COVID-19 studies, econometrics, and impact evaluation – each with a detailed, real-world project to not only determine statistical data but how to make informed decisions from it
- Sustainability – as with all fields, there is a lot of data and differing viewpoints out there. Looking at sustainability through a statistical viewpoint has made me a far better decision maker.
The below documents highlight the final deliverables that I participated in for this class:
S3 – This report highlights how COVID decisions were made in Colombia
S5 – This report looks at the relationship between certain health characteristics of a mother and the mortality of the child.
S7 – This final report details a major Colombian organization: Profamilia and how they can improve their practices using statistics.