UW Statistics Consulting Services Now Available!
Posted: 10/19/2020 ()
The UW Statistical Consulting Service is now available for Fall quarter. Appointments will be held online via Zoom. Faculty and graduate students in the Consulting Program of the Department of Statistics offer free statistical advice to the UW community through scheduled 50-minute consulting appointments during the academic year when classes are in session. For more information and to schedule an appointment, click on the following link:
The consultants have experience primarily with the R statistical analysis system, but they work with clients using whatever statistical package is most convenient for them. (Note: Statistical consulting is for study design and data analysis advice, not software tutorials.) Clients should come to a consulting appointments prepared to provide background information and a clear statement of the scientific aims of their research prior to discussion of particular statistical issues, techniques or analyses.
They provide assistance with:
- the design of studies and experiments, including the preparation of grant proposals
- data visualization and presentation
- choice and application of statistical methods
- development of specialized statistical methods in some cases
About the Consulting Program: This program is a UW course for graduate students in the Department of Statistics. Through this course, students learn how to apply their statistical skills to a variety of real-world problems. Most appointments will have three to four consultants in attendance: two to three student trainees and one faculty advisor. The program is organized around the academic calendar and the participating student consultants change every quarter. Because this is a training program, each consulting appointment has multiple goals. In addition to helping clients, student consultants are developing their consulting skills. Many problems brought to the consulting program require the consultants to research and discuss possible solutions with program colleagues following an appointment in order to determine the most appropriate statistical methods or guidance. In these cases, follow-up appointments are typically scheduled. While resources are limited, some assistance with actual data analyses can be provided on a case-by-case basis, depending on consultant availability, client needs, the size of the problem, and data analysis tasks.