Consultancy

We offer consultancy on the following:

  • Assistance with ethics application forms
  • Statistical requirements for grant applications including sample size calculation
  • Study design
  • Data collection and processing
  • Data quality and management
  • Statistical analysis

The best time to start seeking advice is at the design stage. It is never too early. If you wish to use the service please contact the Section of Population Health on 01224 437266. A secretary will allocate you an appointment and e-mail you a simple form asking for brief details of your query. You should complete this and e-mail it back to her. This will be passed on to the statistician prior to your appointment. Please plan well in advance, especially when facing deadlines for grant applications or abstract submissions. We cannot guarantee to help if your work needs to be submitted, presented or published at short notice.

Unfortunately, our limited resources will not allow us to take on all projects and, as such, we sometimes have to prioritise our commitments.


Grant Applications

When preparing grant applications you should always include some degree of costing for statistical input irrespective of whether you think you need it. (Please contact Professor Amanda Lee if you need advice on the level of costing to include). In this way, departments can gradually build up funds to cover costs incurred for use of the consultancy service for ad-hoc advice on grant and paper submissions, etc. You should also consider whether the statistician should be invited to be a grant applicant, especially if the project involves substantial statistical input. In such cases, costs may be included as a percentage of full-time equivalent (FTE) rather than as a total number of hours. However, we must always see and approve the final version of any such a grant proposal before submission.


Publications

Like all academics, we depend upon a healthy publication record. If one of us has made a substantial contribution to the project we would expect that person to be invited to be a co-author. It would save time and possible embarrassment if co-authorship could be considered at the outset. Whilst we are grateful to be acknowledged in papers or to be listed as co-authors, we must always see and approve any papers/abstracts before submission where there has been Medical Statistics Team involvement.


Cost of Consultancy

We offer University staff an initial 30 minute consultation with no charge. Thereafter, we are required by the School of Medicine to recover costs. Unless some prior arrangement has been negotiated, as of January 2012 we would expect to charge £70 per hour following the initial free consultation. If the project involves substantial statistical input, costs may be calculated as a percentage of FTE rather than calculated on an hourly basis.

Medical Statistics Contacts

Marie Walker-Greenwood
Population Health
1st Fl, Polwarth Building
Foresterhill
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZD

Tel +44 (0) 1224 437266
Tel +44 (0) 1224 437267

Fax: +44 (0)1224 437857
E-mail: marie.walker-greenwood@abdn.ac.uk