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Do You Need a Statistical Consultant? |
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A statistical consultant has technical expertise and experience in areas such as planning studies, measurement and sampling methods, data quality management, and statistical analysis and interpretation. A statistical consultant is a problem solver. The statistician’s specialized knowledge can supplement your own expertise to enhance the integrity and validity of your study.
A statistician is especially helpful when: - You know what you would like to find out and want help to design a study that will answer your questions. You want help determining how large a study to perform or how many different groups to compare.
- A study involves methods and/or responses that may be different from those to which you are accustomed. Different types of data are analyzed in different ways, and a statistician can determine appropriate methods of analysis for each type.
- A planned study takes an unexpected twist. Rather than improvise and hope for the best, consult a statistician who can help to weigh the merits and drawbacks of different possible actions.
- The size of the study results in a volume of data that is more than you are prepared to handle yourself. A statistician can navigate through large data sets to arrive at specific answers to your questions.
- The analytic method appropriate for your data is complex or difficult to use successfully and requires more applied experience than you have.
- You have done similar projects but would like to get a new point of view and/or take advantage of the latest methods of design and analysis.
- You simply prefer to rely on a professional statistician for advice and support on all methodological aspects of your project.
A statistician can also help to interpret the results of an analysis that you have or another person has performed and can evaluate whether a study design or an analysis is appropriate for addressing the problem at hand. |
