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    1. Technology Services
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    3. Research Math Science
    4. Statistical Consulting Services

    Statistical Consulting Services

    Request a Statistical Consulting Appointment

    Statistical consulting services for current VCU faculty, staff, and students are provided by appointment by graduate students and faculty from VCU Statistical Sciences & Operations Research.    

    • Two Levels of Consulting Services
      • Free Services
      • Fee-Based Services
    • Consulting Appointments
    • What We Can’t Do
    • Co-Authorship and Acknowledgement
    • Statistical & Research Resources
      • Software at VCU
      • Working with Sensitive Data
      • VCU Resources for Researchers
      • Other Resources

    Two Levels of Consulting Services Are Provided:

    Free Services

    The goals of our free statistical consulting services are to provide:

    • Current VCU faculty, staff, and students with the statistical advice and technological know-how so that you may independently analyze your data.
    • Support for you to do your research work; it is not our goal to do your research for you or provide free tutoring.
    • Information about available analytical and instructional resources.
    • The direction in and understanding of your statistical analyses and the software in which you are working. 

    Conditions of Free Statistical Consulting Services:

    • Each currently enrolled VCU student is offered 4 hours of no charge consulting per semester. 
      Additional time may be requested by the student’s adviser by email. 
    • Each VCU faculty/staff member is offered 4 hours of no charge consulting per project.
    • If you “No Show” for an appointment, it counts as a 1-hour visit.   
    • We can suggest various analyses that can be performed on your data, as well as give the pros/cons. The decision on which to use is up to you (or you and your advisor/dissertation committee).

    Statistical Consulting Services Provided:

    • Study and experiment design
    • Statistical planning for grant writing
    • Selection of Statistical Software
    •  Data Collection and Data Management Strategies
    • Power Analysis / Sample Size Determination
    • Choice of Appropriate Statistical Methods
    • Understanding Your Statistical Analysis
    • Interpreting Your Results
    • Statistical Software Installation / Upgrade Support 

    Fee-Based Services

    The following services may be provided on a fee for service basis:

    • Write program code for you 
    • Analyze data for you 
    • Provide one-on-one tutoring in statistics and or software packages

    Financial arrangements are negotiated between the client and the consultant.

    Consulting Appointments:

    • To request consulting services, please email statconsult@vcu.edu.
    • Appointments may be made for times outside the walk-in schedule.
    • Consultation often requires multiple appointments.
    • Appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
    • During peak times, it may take 1-3 weeks to get an appointment.
    Walk-In Consulting Schedule
     
     
    Day

    Harris Hall, Rm. 4123
    Monroe Park Campus
    1015 Floyd Ave.

     

    Tuesday2:00 pm - 3:00 pm 
       

    What We Can’t Do:

    • Do Your Homework For You
      Please see your professor or TA for coursework help.
       
    • Turn Back the Clock
      • Data analysis often takes longer than people often plan for. 
      • To ensure you meet your deadlines, start early, and set aside sufficient time to prepare your grant request or analyze your data.

    Co-Authorship and Acknowledgement:

    If the Statistical Consultant contributes in any substantial way to a publication, with advice, planning, or analysis, then he or she is entitled to be a co‐author (if their material is being used). In that case, the statistical consultant also has a responsibility for the publication as a whole, as outlined in the JAMA criteria.

    Otherwise, a statement of acknowledgment similar to the following may be appropriate:   

    "The Statistical Consulting Service at Virginia Commonwealth University and in particular [name the consultant] assisted with the design and analysis of this experiment [or study or project]."

    Articles: Please send copies of all articles that recognize the Statistical Consulting Service at Virginia Commonwealth University to statconsult@vcu.edu

    Statistical & Research Resources

    • Software at VCU
      • JMP
      • R
      • REDCap - secured web surveys and data collection forms
      • SAS
      • SPSS
      • Other Software
    • Working with Sensitive Data
      • When working with sensitive data, it is your responsibility to ensure that the data is secured during collection, transmission, and storage.  
        VCU Encryption Security Standard - sections III-V
      • Research Data Security Overview   
      • What is sensitive data?
        VCU Data Classification Standard
      • How do I collect and store sensitive data?
        • Unless stored on University centrally managed or comparable network storage devices, all Category I data must be encrypted when stored in electronic format.
        • Secured central storage for sensitive research data is available on:
          • Koti
        • All fixed storage devices on University-owned laptop computers must be encrypted with the VCU enterprise encryption solution.
        • REDCap provides secured web data collection forms and secured web surveys
        • See VCU Encryption Security Standard - section IV
      • How can I safely transmit sensitive data?
        • By email: Use Zixmail Secure Email
        • For file transfers:  Establish a VPN connection and then use an SFTP program such as SFTP or Filezilla
        • Securing mobile devices
        • See VCU Encryption Security Standard - section V
      • VCU Office of Research
        • Policies and Guidance (Includes HPPAA Guidance)
        • Research Data Ownership, Retention and Access
      • CITI Training
      • NIH: Protecting Personal Health Information in Research:
        Understanding the HIPAA Privacy Rule
    • VCU Resources for Researchers
      • VCU Biostatistical Consulting Lab
      • VCU Center for Biological Complexity
      • VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research
        • Bioinformatics Core
        • Research Incubator
      • VCU Office of Research
      • VCU SERL- Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory
      • Technology Services Research Servers
        • App2Go - Windows server with research applications
        • Unix servers for research 
    • Other Resources
      • IASRI - Design of Experiments
      • UCLA - Stat Portal
      • UCLA - What statistical analysis should I use?
      • Virginia Public Health Information - Statistics & Surveillance



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    • Division of Administration
    • Technology Services
    • 701 W. Broad St., Box 843059
    • Richmond, VA 23284
    • Phone: (804) 828-2227
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    • Updated: 04/27/2020
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