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Power BI for Practitioners: A Free Hands-On Course

Reading list

Every reading this course assigns, module by module, with the best free copy we could find.

14 readings12 free to read1 on request1 book

A free copy is the published text, or the author's own manuscript held by a university repository, which has the same content without the journal's layout. A subscription reading opens at the publisher, where your library may give you access. If it does not, request a copy and we will reply by email. Books link to their publisher.

Module 1. Getting Power BI Free

  1. Microsoft Learn (2026). What is Power BI? Power BI documentation. Microsoft.Read it free

Module 2. Get Data

  1. Microsoft Learn (2026). Data sources in Power BI Desktop. Power BI documentation. Microsoft.Read it free
  2. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and ICF (2021). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21: India, State and District Fact Sheets. IIPS.Read it free

Module 3. Power Query

  1. Microsoft Learn (2026). Query overview in Power BI Desktop. Power BI documentation. Microsoft.Read it free
  2. Wickham, H. (2014). Tidy Data. Journal of Statistical Software, 59(10), 1-23.Read it free
  3. ASER Centre (2024). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2024. ASER Centre.Read it free

Module 4. Data Modelling

  1. Microsoft Learn (2024). Understand star schema and the importance for Power BI. Power BI guidance. Microsoft.Read it free

Module 5. DAX Foundations

  1. Microsoft Learn (2026). Learn DAX basics in Power BI Desktop. Power BI documentation. Microsoft.Read it free
  2. Russo, M. and Ferrari, A. (2019). The Definitive Guide to DAX: Business Intelligence with Microsoft Power BI, SQL Server Analysis Services, and Excel, 2nd edition. Microsoft Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 6. Honest Visualisation

  1. Cleveland, W. S. and McGill, R. (1984). Graphical Perception: Theory, Experimentation, and Application to the Development of Graphical Methods. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 79(387), 531-554.Publisher pageSubscription
  2. Wilke, C. O. (2019). Fundamentals of Data Visualization. O'Reilly Media. Chapter 2: Visualizing data: mapping data onto aesthetics.Read it free

Module 7. Report Design and Interactivity

  1. Microsoft Learn (2026). Tips for designing a great Power BI dashboard. Power BI documentation. Microsoft.Read it free

Module 8. Sharing the Free Way

  1. Microsoft Learn (2026). Publish to web from Power BI. Power BI documentation. Microsoft.Read it free
  2. Government of India (2023). The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023). Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 1, 11 August 2023.Read it free

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