To mark this milestone, UNSW students and staff are invited to StatFest – a day of practical sessions designed to build skills in study design, data analysis and bioinformatics.
Stats Central was established in 2016, initially through a research infrastructure grant. The goal was to provide study design and analysis support for UNSW researchers. Their role includes providing one-on-one consultations, delivering short courses and doing contract work on larger projects.
What started as a small group of four consultants and academic support staff has grown into a skilled team of 12 staff, supporting researchers across all faculties, UNSW Canberra, clinical campuses, rural campuses and UNSW-affiliated research institutes. The team has recently expanded their offering providing bioinformatics support with three trained bioinformaticians on staff.
(Image top Stats Central team from L to R: Peter Humburg, Nick Olsen, Ben Maslen, David Warton (academic lead), Eve Slavich, Renan Almeida, Nickson Ning, Ada Luo, David Chan, Luz Palacios-Derflingher, Nancy Briggs (Director). Absent: Ann Banks, Maeve McGillycuddy, Gordana Popovic, Tony Zhang).
Supporting research
Designing a study well is essential. The team encourages researchers to check in with a statistician before data collection begins to make sure you are planning to collect data in the best way to answer your key research questions. Stats Central offer free study design advice to staff and research students to help with this. They can also assist at the analysis stage.
“We all know that a good study design and analysis plan is fundamental to doing good research, so you should be running your plans past someone before you implement them. At UNSW we are fortunate to have excellent support for this, with a team of statistical consultants as good as any you could find in leading universities around the world. And it’s free!” said Professor David Warton, School of Mathematics & Statistics and Evolution & Ecology Research Centre.
Each year, Stats Central assists with more than 500 research projects across all faculties. For many researchers the relationship evolves alongside their work.
“I have had an ongoing relationship with Stats Central for five years, with statisticians – Gordana Popovic and then Luz Palacios-Derflingher – working as part of my team, one day a week, to perform statistical modelling in very large datasets. This work has been fundamental to my grants to improve the prognosis for ovarian cancer patients. Gordana and I are also supervising a PhD student on a pathology image AI project,” said Professor Susan Ramus, School of Clinical Medicine.
"I sought advice from Stats Central on aspects of my PhD project, in particular, a complex meta-analysis. Nancy was incredibly helpful and encouraging, allowing me space to learn new skills while guiding me in the right direction. I could not have completed this piece of work without her support," said Kimberley Davies, Clinical Medicine teaching support.
Stats Central is committed to building research capability across UNSW. They offer regular short courses (nine running this year) and monthly seminars to upskill researchers in core research skills.
For schools and research units with larger or more complex needs, they can contract a consultant to provide dedicated and enhanced support. Many researchers include statistical consulting in the budget when they apply for a grant, so that they can contract a statistician to lead the design and analysis.
Join the celebration at StatFest
Come along for a day of seminars, workshops and a drop-in desk for stats advice. A highlight on the day is a public lecture by Professor Merlin Crossley, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Quality, on how bioinformatics has helped him in his work.
The event is free and refreshments and lunch will be provided.
Date: Friday 22 May, 9.45am-5pm
Location: Colombo House (B16)
RSVP: By Monday 18 May
Register for StatFest.
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