About Us
The NSU MD Statistical Consulting Center (NMSCC) is a service and research unit of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Allopathic Medicine. Its staff provides statistical services to faculty, primary researchers, graduate students, and staff of the University.
The NMSCC emphasizes an integrated, comprehensive statistical consulting service, covering all aspects of a quantitative research project ranging from the initial study design to the presentation of the final research conclusions. More specifically, the NMSCC offers the following services:
Proposal Presentation and Study Design
NMSCC provides free consulting services on the statistical aspects of research grants and/or contract proposals. These include design and sampling methods, power and sample size calculations, and choice of statistical methodology.
Researchers are encouraged to make contact with the NMSCC early in the planning process of a quantitative study. Consulting may involve power calculations and help in determining sample sizes needed to achieve various degrees of precision for sample estimators. Statistical advice on matters of measurement or instrument design is also provided.
Dataset Consulting
The NMSCC provides advice on database design and management, as well as on transferring datasets across platforms (e.g., Mac to PC) and across software (e.g., JMP to SPSS).
Choice of Statistical Methods
The NMSCC provides consulting services regarding the choice of appropriate and contemporary statistical methodology.
Use of Statistical Software
The NMSCC maintains a staff of consultants to help researchers implement statistical methodology using one or more of the standard statistical computer programs. At present these programs include AMOS, EPI Info, GPower, JMP, Minitab, Mplus, R, SAS, SPSS, Stata, Sudaan, and Winsteps. Support is available on Windows or Macintosh platforms.
Interpretation of Results
The NMSCC staff assists researchers in interpreting the results of various statistical methods and in determining what conclusions are statistically justifiable.
Presentation of Results
The NMSCC staff offers advice on presenting the results of statistical analyses, including graphical presentation.
Collaborative Research
For projects that require more statistical services than NMSCC can offer without charge, NMSCC and its staff are available to submit joint, collaborative research grant/contract proposals or to enter into subcontract agreements. Such agreements might cover any or all of the various statistical/quantitative aspects of the research.
Workshops
The NMSCC presents workshops on statistical methods and statistical software. SAS and SPSS workshops, as well as a statistics review workshop, are offered each fall and winter. Other recent workshops include Calculating Sample Size, Structural Equation Modeling, Missing Data, and Survival Analysis.
Other Information
The NMSCC is located in room 1522b of the Terry Building, in the College of Allopathic Medicine of Nova Southeastern University. Statistical consulting is available by phone, drop-in visit*, or email. More in-depth statistical consulting is available by appointment. Collaborative/joint research should be arranged with the NMSCC director, Patrick C. Hardigan.
*It is recommended to call first so that we can serve you better.