Statistical Consulting Service
This service is housed within the Statistics Group in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This group currently consists of two faculty members and centers primarily on a Master of Science program in statistics. The two faculty involved in the program are Drs. Biao Zhang and Qin Shao. The service is coordinated by Dr. White and involves the graduate students in the statistics program through a consulting course and through a research seminar where consulting projects are often discussed.
What is the history of this service?
Now Emeritus and no longer at the University, Dr. White arrived at the University of Toledo in 1993 with extensive consulting experience at both the University of California at Irvine and the State University of New York at Buffalo. The Department of Mathematics and Statistics provided the initial impetus to initiate this service with support in the summer of 1994. Since that time, the service has provided statistical assistance to a wide variety of UT and outside clients. Among these clients are faculty, staff and/or students in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy, Education and Allied Professions, and Engineering. Clients have also arisen from the UT College of Medicine, the Office of Retention Services, and numerous clients outside the university.
To whom are these services offered?
Statistical consulting services are available to the University of Toledo and the UT College of Medicine. The service is also available on a contract basis to other organizations. Within the university, the service is intended to meet the statistical needs for the research efforts of faculty, administration, staff, and students. We especially encourage the acquisition of consulting assistance in the writing of research grants. Such an inclusion in the grant often enhances the likelihood of ultimately obtaining funding. The service is not intended to assist students in course assignments, but is ready to assist students with research projects if approval is granted by the faculty directing that project.
How do I request statistical assistance?
Calls for assistance should be directed to Dr. Geoffrey Martin. A message can be left with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at 419.530.2568. An appointment will then be made for a meeting in the Mathematics offices with Dr. Martin/Zhang/Shao and possibly other statistics faculty and/or graduate students. Consulting will not be performed over the phone. Upon request, the meeting can be held at an alternative location. If the consulting project requires work beyond the introductory meeting, the task will be assigned to students in the Statistics master's degree program. The work will be performed under the supervision of Dr. White. Every attempt will be made to set and meet a reasonable deadline for the completion of the work. The setting of the deadline will, of course, be dependent upon the demands placed on the service.
Is payment required for these services?
We desire to meet the statistical needs at the University of Toledo regardless of ability to provide compensation for the services rendered. On the other hand, we also desire to provide these services during the summer months and, if the demand is sufficient, to add resources during the academic year. To accomplish this goal, we ask that researchers who have access to monetary resources for the research being performed provide some compensation to a fund which has been established for this purpose. For those requesting assistance with writing a grant proposal, we will also request that an appropriate percentage of the grant funds requested be directed to the acquisition of statistical assistance.
What Services are performed?
Our aim is to offer assistance with experimental design, data display and analysis, and interpretation of findings. Requests for assistance in preparing research grants, writing papers for publication, preparing conference presentations, writing theses, or in any other quantitative research will be welcome. We especially request that you involve statisticians in your research at the earliest possible stages. The quality of the results obtained often depend highly upon the quality of the data collection process, i.e., the quality often depends upon consulting with a statistician at the beginning of the research effort.