BM9716 - Business Statistics and Data Analytics

You will be supported by a teaching and learning plan (TLP) which outlines the formal sessions (lectures and IT workshops), together with tutor-directed study and independent study/reading. You will be provided each week by a one-hour lecture which covers various theoretical concepts relating to business statistics and analytical tools supported through reference and demonstration of appropriate IT applications. These lectures will be followed by a supporting 2-hour IT workshop and guest lectures where possible where you will gain practical, hands-on experience of using contemporary business statistics and analytics applications.





Workshops and assignments in this module are designed to encourage you to develop your oral communication, written presentation skills, and your effectiveness in group situations. Furthermore, structured activities will be used in this module to develop independent learning skills. All the teaching and learning materials in addition to assignment and assessment tools are developed by the use of the Blackboard course management system. The assignment requirements of this module will expect you to engage with a wide range of scholarly sources to evaluate the effectiveness and currency of these analytics applications and subsequently you will communicate this through your assessment by presentation followed by written format. Independent learning will centre upon you identifying and pursuing areas of interest in relation to business statistical analysis and by providing deeper/broader knowledge and understanding of the subject through a range of learning activities that will include extended reading, reflection and research. Critical reflection on knowledge, experience and practice underpins the learning and teaching philosophy along with the explicit development of competence. This module will help you in understanding and conducting business statistics and descriptive data analysis by using SPSS which will be used to introduce core statistical tools and fundamental aspects of statistical analysis. You will be provided with the key concepts, tools and methods of statistics as well as the opportunity to work through different example cases. In addition to exploring data with graphs and descriptive statistical analysis. Furthermore, SAS will be used to demonstrate the ability to use specialised software tools to analyse large sets of data in real-world problems. SAS Enterprise packages will be used as part of the `Data Analytics for Business Decision Making' via querying and reporting tools. Furthermore, SAS Enterprise Guide will be used to show: The point-and-click front end to SAS programming, used for data access and management, and access to all SAS statistical and graphics modules.

The university is well-placed to support you in learning and research with excellent library and teaching facilities, as well as access to relevant and up-to date business intelligence/analytics software. You will have access to industrial standard business analytics software, like SPSS and SAS, supported by additional Blackboard materials and access to Northumbria University’s library and databases. Furthermore, you will be supported by the module tutor in addition to various subject experts. These staff will deliver lectures, workshops and seminars relevant to their areas of expertise. Workshops and seminars will be in small groups so that there is ample opportunity for exploring the issues raised in detail. Moreover, academic content and delivery will be enhanced through opportunity for guest practitioner expert input.


In addition, you will be supported at a programme level by an induction programme to introduce you to the University and the Masters’ programme. Each of you will also be assigned a personal tutor to provide pastoral support and guidance throughout the programme. Further support is provided to you through the personal tutor sessions embedded into the Leadership and Management Development module, and a module teaching and learning plan detailing the delivery structure and University requirements. An interactive approach to lecture sessions will draw upon the directed learning undertaken and participants’ own experiences. Throughout, the emphasis will be on high levels of participation, both individually and within small groups or teams. Participants can therefore expect the reflective-practitioner approach to learning to be embedded in all workshop/seminar sessions through undertaking activities which facilitate them to apply theory to ‘real-life’ situations, critically analysing and making recommendations for appropriate ways forward for the organisation / individual. Directed learning will centre upon a range of activities including pre-reading, preparation for interactive activities and use of the discussion board on the e-learning platform. Moreover, the module will have e-learning portal including all the materials related to this course supported by BB Ultra in addition to an electronic reading list and an academic teaching team led by a designated module tutor.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:


Understanding the basic methods of research and statistical analysis in business. (MLO1)


Critically apply business statistics and analytical tools to real-life scenarios using case studies, individual and team consulting-based assignments, presentations and software tools. (MLO2)






Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:


Gaining a solid theoretical foundation and quantitative analytical skills, alongside practical problem-solving techniques by using SPSS / SAS Enterprise software for “Data Analytics for Business”. (MLO3)




Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):


Developing the key skills you need to succeed in future careers and build in your employability skills as part of your basic toolkit for life. (MLO4)


Assessing the ethical issues related to business data analytics. (MLO5)

Formative assessment will take place through number of opportunities where formative feedback will be provided throughout the module, particularly in relation to workshop / seminar tasks. However you should be aware that formative feedback can, and will occur in any communication with an academic tutor. You will be assessed on the basis of your project; testing your ability to formulate, plan and evaluate business research topics, and to perform basic numeric operations, and consequently analyse and interpret data in quantitative models of business and management situations. The summative assessment of this module will comprise two components:

Assignment “A” (weighted 60%): 2000-word report to reflect the students’ learning process in the use of SPSS and SAS, data analysis, and the result interpretation. The report should also highlight the individual insights and personal engagement with the material.

This assignment will cover MLO1, MLO2 and MLO3.

Assignment “B” (weighted 40%): a group presentation to analyse the business case and present a culmination of the work developed over the semester for your chosen project.

This assignment will cover MLO3, MLO4 and MLO5 .

Summative assessment will take place through the two components of the assignment, as for each component of assessment there is a respective standard feedback proforma that will indicate how marks are allocated to the work, alongside the annotated comments on the work and overall summary comments. You will be provided with written feedback (electronic) on your performance, which will include any actions to be taken to improve performance.

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The “Business Statistics and Data Analytics” module in our MSc in Business Analytics programme will prepare you to work with data in the business environment, using statistical, mathematical and business analytics skills. In this course you will learn how to present business data through reports and dashboards that reveal key statistics about organisations and different business cases. Business Statistics and Data Analytics work hand-in-hand, because analytics turns data into insights that guide intelligent business decisions. You will learn how to discover and create knowledge from data analysis as well as data preparation, data visualization, statistical analysis and other advanced analytics tools by using and applying one of the most famous analytics tools “SAS software” which is known as Analytics Leader in addition to SPSS. This course will help you in understanding business statistical analysis, develop your data analysis skills and will qualify you to work in organisations and help them to achieve their digital transformation goals. This module will enable you to integrate the power of SPSS and SAS, role-based interfaces and Microsoft Office to make fact-based decisions. Furthermore, it will help you to integrate BI capabilities quickly into existing environments and get decision makers the information they need. When they need it.