Course

5. Intelligence Analysis Fundamentals 

Self-paced
Online
Accredited

Now that information has been collected and processed. It’s time to use it to answer the intelligence customer’s requirements and the critical thinking stage: Intelligence Analysis.

This course focuses on the basics of intelligence analysis and serves as an introduction to upcoming courses on analysis.

From Data to Answers:

  • Understanding the Customer: The course will emphasize the importance of understanding the intelligence customer’s needs and requirements. Analysts must tailor their analysis to address specific questions and provide insights relevant to the customer’s decision-making process.
  • The Analytical Toolkit: You’ll explore various analytical techniques employed by intelligence professionals. Structured Analytic Techniques (SATs) like critical thinking frameworks and hypothesis testing offer a systematic approach. This is to analyse information and draw well-supported conclusions.

Thinking Like an Analyst:

  • Critical Thinking and Reasoning: This section will hone your critical thinking and reasoning skills, essential for effective intelligence analysis. You’ll learn to assess the credibility of sources, identify biases, and weigh evidence to arrive at sound judgments.
  • Pattern Recognition and Anomaly Detection: The course will explore techniques for identifying patterns and uncovering anomalies within the analyzed data. Recognizing emerging trends and spotting deviations from the norm can be crucial for anticipating threats or opportunities.
  • Uncertainty Management: The real world is rarely black and white. You’ll learn how to manage uncertainty by assessing the confidence level of intelligence. Further, communicating the limitations of the analysis to the customer.

Crafting Compelling Analyses:

  • Writing Clear and Concise Reports: This section will equip you with the skills to write clear, concise, and well-organized intelligence reports. Presenting complex information in a readily digestible format is vital for effective communication with decision-makers.
  • Visualization Techniques: You’ll learn how to utilize charts, graphs, and other visual aids to enhance the clarity and impact of your intelligence analyses. Presenting data visually can help customers grasp complex relationships and trends more effectively.

The Evolving Landscape:

  • Cognitive Bias and Deception: The course might touch upon the challenges of cognitive bias and deception in intelligence analysis. You’ll learn how to mitigate these biases and identify potential attempts by adversaries to mislead or manipulate intelligence collection and analysis.
  • The Future of Analysis: Exploring emerging trends like the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in assisting with complex data analysis and the integration of new data sources like social media could also be covered.

Course Outline:

01. Video Introduction

Expected Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  1. Articulate the role of intelligence analysis in meeting customer requirements.
  2. Apply various Structured Analytic Techniques (SATs) to analyze intelligence data.
  3. Demonstrate critical thinking and reasoning skills for intelligence analysis.
  4. Identify patterns, anomalies, and manage uncertainty within intelligence information.
  5. Write clear, concise, and visually engaging intelligence reports.
  6. Recognize the challenges of cognitive bias and deception in intelligence analysis.

The Intelligence Analysis Fundamentals course equips you with the analytical skills and knowledge necessary to transform intelligence data into valuable insights that inform decision-making across various intelligence disciplines.

Who this program is for:

The courses of the Intelligence Cycle Fundamentals program, are designed as an introductory window into the world of Intelligence, thus no previous training or education on Intelligence is required.

The courses of this program are for anybody who wants to engage with intelligence in their career right now, or in the future. These could be researchers, journalists, analysts, policymakers, security professionals and much more.

Content Warning: 

This course deals with the common types of work in the intelligence industry and therefore features broad discussions of issues such as conflict, terrorism, and natural disasters. We also provide links to historical documents that deal with these topics throughout the course. We include this context because they are common topics in intelligence and are the subject of most historic and declassified documents. For specific concerns about the nature of any content please contact school@greydynamics.com.

Instructors

Marcel Plichta

I’m Marcel Plichta, the Lead Instructor & Grey Dynamics Intelligence School Manager. I am a former analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense and PhD candidate at the University of St Andrews. I have taught and briefed on a variety of international relations and intelligence topics, including foreign policy analysis, African security, and emerging technologies. Currently, I hold a fellowship at the Centre for Global Law and Governance and wrote for Foreign Policy, the Irregular Warfare Initiative, and, the Counterterrorism Sentinel at West Point.

Contact

Have further questions? Feel free to email us at school@greydynamics.com.

Course information
Price $250
Duration 5 Hours
Accreditation Yes
Certificate Yes

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Frequently asked questions

For general inquiries, you can email school@greydynamics.com.

For privacy and accessibility issues please email privacy@greydynamics.com or accessibility@greydynamics.com as appropriate.

Intelligence work is extremely broad and each case is different. Intelligence work ranges from normal office work to physically and mentally demanding activity.

Some roles, particularly those in the military or law enforcement, have physical requirements that are required by the institution rather than the role itself.

Additionally, some workplaces are better able to meet accessibility requirements than others. We recommend potential learners search for the specific roles or organisations that interest them and check those organisations’ requirements and accessibility policies before committing to our course.

Be aware that many organisations accommodate audio or visual impairment in some roles, but not all organisations or governments globally are required by law to make reasonable accommodations. 

Our regular course content functions with accessibility tools like subtitles and altering the speed and quality of the videos to ensure learners have a consistent experience regardless of their circumstances.

However, some written course material (i.e. historical documents), may not function with accessibility tools like read-aloud as they are scanned pdfs of varying quality.

We designed our course to comply with all laws and are not aware of any legal or administrative restrictions that would prohibit access to the course. If you have specific concerns about your privacy while taking this course reach out at privacy@greydynamics.com.

We encourage feedback about the course. We integrated a feedback form into the course at the end in which learners can rate their experience and provide comments and recommendations.

If there are any technical issues with accessing the feedback form, please contact accessibility@greydynamics.com.

The prices per course are $250 per course, for the Fundamental courses and for the program with all 6 courses together is $1200.

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