Biostatistic Consultation
Overview
The Biostatistics Core Facility conducts collaborative biostatistical research and provides statistical supports for universities, industries and government agencies. The primary objective of this core facility is to ensure that studies are well designed, correctly analysed, clearly presented, and correctly interpreted. The Biostatistics Core Facility provides methodological and statistical support that facilitate and enhance basic, clinical, and translational research and provides high priority assistance in developing grant proposals and publication. This assistance includes designing studies, developing analytic plans, and analysing pilot data.
The portfolio of services available included:
- Statistics Clinic (FREE for IMU staff and research students)
- Statistical Consultation Services (fee for service basis)
- Contract Research
- Collaborative research
- Education in the areas of study design, data collection, computerization, and statistical methods
Statistics Clinic and Consultation Services
Prof Dr Chandrashekhar Thummala Hally Sreerama Reddy
Professor, Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine
Dr Lai Pei Kuan
Lecturer, Institute for Research, Development and Innovation
We offer a free walk-in statistical consulting service to researchers in IMU in support for the preparation of grant applications (does not include analysis of data for publication). Our idea is to keep the threshold to participation as low as possible: all researchers are invited to attend, regardless of their fields. We aim to provide anything from statistical advice to new methodology development. We will also be interested in discussing potential academic collaborations and possible joint projects with our clients.
How to participate?
Simply turn up at one of our drop-in sessions – prior booking is preferred. We will deal with all queries within the session. Prepare for the meeting by collecting your thoughts – send us the relevant documents 3 days before the discussion and prepare to give a 2-minute oral description of your scientific problem, in accessible language. Give (only) enough background to your problem to set the context of the question. Bring a laptop if you need a computer to explain the stage you have reached in your analysis but be aware that we may not be expert in the particular research field you are involved.
What do we offer?
- Help our clients understand how to formulate their statistical problems in a more precise and meaningful way.
- Provide advice on different kinds of statistical models that can be used in different circumstances and being wary of common pitfalls.
- Point our clients to books, papers and software packages that might help them with their work.
- Provide advice on experimental design before data is collected (this is likely to result in a more successful route to addressing questions).
- Show clients how to apply appropriate statistical tools to highlight the most useful information from the data.
- Put our clients in contact with other researchers in IMU and beyond, who specialize in their particular type of problem.
Who can participate?
All researchers at IMU – research students and academic staff. Research students must inform their supervisors of their attendance.
What we expect in return?
We hope that sometimes our discussions might evolve into genuine scientific collaboration, but in many cases a small acknowledgement in your paper of our assistance (if there is any) will be fine.
When is the clinic?
The walk-in clinic will be typically held on Friday afternoon except for public holiday. Please make your appointment in the following links:
If more in-depth support is needed, a biostatistician can provide help with the writing of statistical components, including experimental design, sample size calculations, and choice of appropriate statistical methods. We encourage academic, government, non-profit, or commercial clients outside the University to utilise our services.
Term of Services
The provided services include expertise for the planning, conduct, analysis and interpretation and dissemination of research findings from clinical trials, epidemiologic and population-based studies, experiments in basic research, and other types of studies:
- Data Analysis – Collaborating in the analysis of data for manuscript preparation, poster or oral presentations and grant submission.
- Grant Application – Providing statistical and methodological support for all grant applications.
- Study Design – Providing consultation during the design of a study, including the selection of the appropriate study design, primary endpoints, sample size and statistical model.
- Statistical and methodological support – provide support and guidance on all study protocols that are submitted for IRB review.
To encourage clients to seek our help with grant applications, we will offer a free initial one-hour consultation for any research project needing statistical assistance.
Consultation Fees
The hourly rate varies depending on the consultant, as shown below:
| Consultant | Rate (IMU) | Rate (Academic / Non-Profit) | Rate (Commercial) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecturer / Senior Lecturer | FREE | RM80/hour | RM120/hour |
| Associate Professor | FREE | RM160/hour | RM240/hour |
| Professor | FREE | RM240/hour | RM360/hour |
Terms of Services
The Biostatistics Core offers a variety of services. We offer a free initial one-hour consultation for any research project needing statistical assistance. During this initial consultation, which will typically be a face-to-face meeting between the client(s) and consultants, we will provide general advice on experimental and/or survey design, discuss general procedures for analysing data, and provide, where possible, interpretation of output from statistical software packages. Our goal in doing this is to improve the general statistical quality of research. This service is appropriate for any sort of research being done on campus, including projects related to students’ Master’s theses or PhD dissertations.
For some projects, this initial consultation will be the only assistance required. In other cases, if clients feel the need for more in-depth explanations or desire us to analyse data for them, we will provide these services for an agreed upon fee. In addition, we may also provide this service for off-campus researchers and commercial clients, as time permits.
The Biostatistics Core’s services are not intended to help students answer homework questions or to provide tutoring. The Biostatistics Core does not write or format dissertation chapters. Additionally, the Biostatistics Core cannot provide data entry or data transcription services, nor do we provide independent research, though we are happy to offer advice on how these tasks can be accomplished.
We may also embark on full collaborative research by providing researchers support for the design, conduct, analyses, and generation of manuscripts for their research at no charge. Some of these projects may result in the publication of collaborative interdisciplinary research. In this case, it may be appropriate that co-authorship is granted to our consultant(s). Investigators wishing to discuss the possibility of collaborative research should contact the respective consultant(s).
We can provide statistical and other quantitative training for students or researchers at university, industry, government agencies, and foundations, as needed.
Privacy and Confidentiality
All consultations will be subjected under the conditions of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). A collaboration agreement may be established for all contracts and collaborative research. The investigator can publish all data under the terms of the NDA if it is under a fee-for-service agreement.