Building on prior coursework in statistical methods and modeling, students will obtain a deeper understanding of the entire process of data analysis. The course aims to develop skills of model selection so that practical questions at hand can be properly formulated as statistical null and alternative hypotheses. An important step is how to select a reasonable model, when one's first attempt does not adequately fit the data. Students will learn how to explore the data, to build reliable models, and to communicate the results of data analysis to a variety of audiences.