352 – Section on Statistical Consulting CPapers 1
A Framework for Successful Statistical Consulting: A Concise, Field-Specific Handbook to Help Scientists Make Effective Use of Statistical Methods in Their Field
Wanchunzi Yu
Bridgewater State University
Inherent to statistical consulting and collaborations across disciplines is the need to balance the quality of statistical argumentation with the specific expectations and standards of the investigator’s field. In this paper, we present a framework we developed to facilitate a successful collaboration with researchers in the field of dental material science—by improving communication about the scientific context of the research question and the statistical methods employed. Drawing on our experiences from this collaboration, we describe techniques for how to bridge the complexity of statistical methodologies with the scientist who may be unfamiliar with these tools. In particular, we underscore the value of producing a concise handbook for the statistical methods and analysis specific to the research questions emerging in the investigator’s field. The handbook was created after a survey of papers in the field of dental materials, and provides accessible explanations, field-specific examples and accompanying applets for the principal statistical tools we encountered in this research area.