HDR Statistical Consulting Service

The School of Science offers a statistical consulting service to all Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates. This consultancy service is supported by the School of Graduate Research.

HDR candidates, along with their supervisors, are encouraged to access the service early on during their candidature to discuss statistical issues and seek advice on planning the statistical aspects of a candidate’s research. Later consultations focus on assisting with data analysis, interpretation and reporting.

The service aims to support HDR candidates who require access to expert statistical advice. The service assumes a basic level of statistical knowledge covered by most introductory level statistics courses.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria will change for all new candidates accessing the service for the first time in 2016. You must meet the following criteria to book an appointment.

You must be an enrolled RMIT University HDR student
You must have previously completed an introductory statistics course or MATH2256, GEOM2162, MATH1238, MATH1300, MATH1324, MATH2114, MATH2123, MATH2170, MATH1275, MATH1276, MATH2185, MATH2200, MATH2201 prior to accessing the service.

All other programs, including postgraduate and undergraduate programs, are not eligible. The service assumes you have a foundational knowledge of statistics. This includes a working knowledge of sampling, data collection and management, basic statistical analysis and statistical inference. If the consultant feels a candidate lacks this foundation, they reserve the right to advise the candidate to complete an introductory level statistics course before resuming consultations.

Enabling courses

There are other statistics courses within the university that you can audit to help develop a foundation in statistics. With the course coordinator’s permission, you can access the course learning materials and attend classes. However, you will not be formally enrolled and will therefore not receive a formal grade. These courses run at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Please contact the course coordinator for further information. The statistical consulting service recommends the following enabling courses:

Availability

A limited number of City and virtual (Google Hangouts or phone) consultation sessions are available each week throughout the year. The service is not available during the Christmas holidays and early January. Candidates will be able to access the consultancy service throughout their candidature to ensure they are on the right track with the statistical components of their research.

Areas of expertise

Our expertise covers, but is not limited to:

Research design and sample size estimation
Data collection and management
Survey and questionnaire design
Psychometric analysis
Basic statistical analysis and interpretation
Experimental research design and analysis
Advanced statistical analysis and interpretation
Statistical modelling
Use of statistical packages
Feedback and advice on statistical methods and results sections (thesis or publications).

What to expect

The service is an advisory support to candidates. Consultants will advise, demonstrate analysis methods and guide candidates within the allocated session. The aim of the service is to build the capacity of the candidate to perform independent statistical analysis by providing candidates with access to expert statistical advice.

You should expect your consultant to do the following:

Assist you to identify and understand statistical issues related to your research in order to improve the overall quality of your research plan.
Provide advice for identifying, performing and interpreting appropriate statistical methods within the context of your research.
Link you to relevant literature and resources that assist you with the statistical concepts and analysis related to your research.
Provide feedback and support on writing and reporting the statistical elements of your research.
Follow-up via phone or email to provide you with session summaries and questions.

Booking appointments

Due to unforeseen resourcing issues, this service is not currently available. Please watch this space for information about how to access statistical support when bookings become available in 2022.

Request an appointment (RMIT login required)

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