Offered By

Python Basics for Online Research SpecializationUniversity of California, Davis

What you will learn

Practice with Python by bridging between the basics of a programming language and interacting with the Internet and address the human side of code.
Practice with strings, lists, Booleans, errors, lists, and list manipulation. Learn how people use code to represent real-world ideas.
Manipulate the flow of how your code runs, turning logic into useful work. Learn about loops, list comprehensions, and conditional statements.
Author more complex ideas and capabilities in Python using dictionaries, how to work with them and nest them, functions, refactoring, and debugging.

About this Specialization

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If you do not yet code and want to learn, this Specialization has a goal to soften the learning curve for Python. It has four main objectives: To inspire you to code To help you think in code To teach you technical concepts to code To give you useful examples of things to do in code There is a steep learning curve on learning to code, and that is why this Specialization emphasizes motivation. You have to want to learn to code and stick with it through multiple learning activities and your own experimentation, research, and practice. This single Specialization will not teach you to code. It will, however, get you started with a mindset for coding, understanding of Python technical concepts, and an appreciation of what can be done with Python to access and interact with data on the Internet. These skills are increasingly essential for researchers. The wealth of data that is now available to researchers who can use Python and other tools to access it is transforming academic disciplines, including the social sciences. But there's a gap between the questions about human nature that we know internet data can cast light on, and the raw, messy reality of code and data. Each course in this Specialization has code demonstrations that you run that show how to use Python to bridge the gap and to discover things about ourselves, our friends, each other, and society, as we interact with the Internet in code. We look forward to being a part of your continuing education!

Applied Learning Project

While no formal requisites are necessary to join this specialization, you will be accessing and completing assignments in Jupyter Notebooks using the programming language Python in various APIs. On the technical skills side, this specialization will teach basic Python types, variables, code flow, and modules, up to functions.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online courses

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Flexible Schedule

Set and maintain flexible deadlines.

Beginner Level

Approximately 4 months to complete

Suggested pace of 2 hours/week

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

How the Specialization Works

Take Courses

A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.

Hands-on Project

Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.

Earn a Certificate

When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 4 Courses in this Specialization

Course1

Course 1

Python Basics: Interacting with the Internet

If you do not yet code and want to learn, this course is a great place to start. It will teach you how to use existing Python code to interact with data on the Internet in fun new ways. Instruction focuses on the conceptual basics of the programming language as it relates to working with online data. You'll be introduced to Python arithmetic operators, variables, values, and modules. At a higher level, you'll experience what an API is and how it works by playing with cat memes.

Separate from the technical part of coding, there's the psychological part. Topic lectures will address the human side of code, and make you feel more prepared to see yourself as someone who uses code. You won’t code from scratch yourself, but will use prepared code to accomplish tasks and see how it works. Additional code demonstrations are available in the honors module of the course to provide broad exposure to Python interactions with internet data.

Course2

Course 2

Python Basics: Retrieving Online Data

Course3

Course 3

Python Basics: Automation and Bots

Understanding the flow of running code is a major part of learning to think in code and of coding itself. In this course we will study the flow of code through several demonstrations and walkthroughs. We'll experience turning logic into useful work by running Python that automatically reads all of Shakespeare, and by setting Python up to give you a call on the phone. In technical terms, this course will demonstrate Python loops, list comprehensions, and conditional statements, while at a higher level we'll discuss code style and good practices for code.

Course4

Course 4

Python Basics: Problem Solving with Code

A lot of code is building up from the most basic primitive elements of the language to increasingly faithful and meaningful things. In this course you will see how to author more complex ideas and capabilities in Python. In technical terms, you will learn dictionaries and how to work with them and nest them, functions, refactoring, and debugging, all of which are also thinking tools for the art of problem solving. We'll use this knowledge to explore our browsing history, interrogate a tweet, and draw pictures.

Instructor

Seth Frey

Professor and Computational Social Scientist

2,490 Learners

4 Courses

Offered by

University of California, Davis

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the refund policy?
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.
Can I just enroll in a single course?
Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate, or you can audit it to view the course materials for free. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Can I take the course for free?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.
Is this course really 100% online? Do I need to attend any classes in person?
This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.
How long does it take to complete the Specialization?
This Specialization can take anyone 3-5 months to complete.
What background knowledge is necessary?
No background knowledge is necessary to work through this Specialization.
Do I need to take the courses in a specific order?
We highly encourage you complete the courses in the order specified as they do build on one another.
Will I earn university credit for completing the Specialization?
No, this specialization does not offer University credit.
What will I be able to do upon completing the Specialization?
This specialization will teach you to read, run, think, and play in code.

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Python Basics for Online Research Specialization

What you will learn

About this Specialization

Applied Learning Project