RESEARCH SUPPORT
Statistics Support for Research Projects
One Project, Plan to Interpretation
Statistical work attached to a single project, from the first design decision to the interpreted results: the plan, the analysis, the tables, and interpreting p-values and confidence intervals into a plain statement of what the findings can and cannot support.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Fixed Project Fee
Same-Day Response
What Does Statistical Support for a Research Project Cover?
Statistics support for research projects is the statistical work attached to one defined project, from the design decisions made at the start to the interpretation of the final estimates. It can enter at any stage: planning the design and the sample, preparing and analyzing the data, reporting the results, or reviewing an analysis that already exists. The last of these stages, interpreting p-values and confidence intervals against each research question, decides how far the findings can be taken, so it is planned from the start. Research project statistical analysis is agreed as a single scope with one fixed project fee confirmed after review, so the work has a beginning, a list of deliverables and an end. OnlineSPSS, a specialist statistical consultancy for academic, clinical and professional research, provides this support: an in-house PhD-level statistician carries out the agreed work and explains the results in terms of your design. Your team leads the project and decides what it concludes.
WHEN TO ENGAGE
Entry Points Into a Research Project
A project can bring in statistical support early or late, and the work differs accordingly, from design choices at the start to interpretation once results are in.
Before Data Collection The design and the primary outcome are drafted while the sample size and the analysis plan can still change, which is when changes cost least.
During Data Handling Data are being collected or cleaned, and decisions about coding, exclusions and missing values must be taken and recorded in a consistent way.
When Results Are Back Output exists and has to become estimates, intervals and tables that match the design and the research questions of the project.
Interpretation and Review Results are in hand but their meaning is unclear, or a coauthor, supervisor or reviewer has questioned how far they can be taken.
WHAT THE PROJECT WORK COVERS
A Project's Statistical Work, Piece by Piece
A project is not a single analysis, and the scope names which of these parts are included, in what order and with which outputs.
Design and Plan
The study design, the primary outcome and the analysis plan are reviewed or drafted, with each question linked to a method before any data are touched, a stage described among the Services.
Data Preparation
Coding, missing values and derived variables are documented, so that the analysis dataset can be traced back to the data that were collected.
Analysis
The agreed models are fitted and checked through Quantitative Data Analysis, with diagnostics that show whether each model suits the design.
Method Choice
Where a question can be answered in more than one way, the options in Statistical Methods are compared and the choice is explained.
Results Interpretation
Each estimate is read with its interval against the research question, statistical and practical significance are kept apart, and the notes state what the design allows to be concluded and what it does not.
Reporting
Tables, figures and a methods note recording the tests, options and software version are prepared through Results Reporting & Interpretation, in the format of your report or journal.
COMMON PROJECT RISKS
Breaks Between the Stages of a Project
Weaknesses in a project analysis often sit at the handoffs: between the plan and the analysis, the analysis and the report, and the report and its interpretation.
Plan Not Carried Through The analysis in the report differs from the plan and the changes are not stated, so readers cannot tell which results were prespecified.
Sample Smaller Than Planned Recruitment falls short and the analysis proceeds as if the precision were unchanged, though the intervals are wider than expected.
Numbers That Do Not Reconcile Counts in the text, tables and figures differ because they were produced at different times from different versions of the dataset.
Output Reported Unread A p-value is quoted without the estimate, its interval or the unit, so the reader cannot judge whether the effect matters.
Findings Stretched Results from one setting are generalized to a wider population than the sample represents, or an association is stated as a cause.
No Trail for Reviewers When a reviewer asks how a number was obtained, no record exists of the data version, code and decisions that produced it.
DELIVERABLES
Outputs Matched to the Point of Entry
The items depend on the entry point, and the scope lists those that apply to your project and the form they take.
Analysis Plan or Review Note For a project at the start, a written plan; for one under way, a note on how the existing design and plan stand.
Analysis-Ready Dataset The cleaned dataset with a codebook of the recodes, exclusions and derived variables, each with its reason.
Rerunnable Analysis Record The code and output for each agreed analysis, kept in the order in which the questions of the project were answered.
Report-Ready Results Results presented with estimates, 95% confidence intervals and sample sizes, in the format of the report or journal.
Interpretation Summary A written reading of the results against each research question, with the limits of the design stated plainly.
Methods and Limitations Note A note listing the tests, options, assumptions checked and software version, with the limitations of the analysis recorded plainly.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
A Pilot Read as a Feasibility Study
An illustration of how a project moves from design review to results interpreted within the limits of a small pilot.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE · SCHOOL-BASED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PILOT RESEARCH · UNITED STATES
A public health research team ran a pilot of a school-based physical activity program in a few schools and wanted statistical support from design review through to the interpreted results.
At the first review the team hoped to report the program as effective. The pilot design and the number of participating children could not support that claim, so the plan was rewritten around feasibility outcomes, such as participation and retention, and around the estimated change in activity with its confidence interval, framed as input for the design of a larger trial. The complication arose in the analysis. Children were clustered within schools, and the small number of schools made the interval for the program difference wide and sensitive to how the clustering was handled. The interpretation said so, and it avoided causal language because schools had not been randomly assigned.
Outcome: The team received the analysis plan, the cleaned dataset with a codebook, the scripts and output, the tables with 95% confidence intervals, interpretation notes on each estimate and the methods and limitations note.
This example does not describe a real client or project. We never share details of actual client work, in line with the confidentiality we promise every researcher. This illustrative example is included to show the type, scope, and standard of work involved in this kind of analysis.
SOFTWARE
Software Across the Stages of a Project
The software follows the project and the people who will use the files, and the work moves between programs when a stage requires it.
HOW WE ASSESS YOUR PROJECT
We Review Your Actual Research
Your assessment is based on a review of your actual research materials and analytical requirements, not a generic project category.
You Submit Your Project Details
Share whatever is available at the current stage, such as the research aim, protocol or proposal, dataset, variable list, manuscript or statistical requirements.
We Review Your Research and Define the Scope
Your statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the materials to understand the study design, research questions, data structure, analytical requirements and expected deliverables. If clarification is needed, additional documents or information can be requested before the assessment is finalized.
Your Analysis Is Completed and Delivered
Once the scope and fixed project fee are agreed, the in-house statistician completes the work and the Research Coordinator remains the communication point through delivery, with the analysis, deliverables and timeline as agreed.
RESEARCH RESPONSIBILITY
Statistics Inside a Project You Lead
OnlineSPSS carries out the agreed statistical work, and the aims of the project and what it concludes remain with the people who lead it.
Agreed Statistical Support OnlineSPSS provides the agreed methodological, analytical and statistical reporting support, defined in a scope that is confirmed before any work begins.
No Intellectual Contribution OnlineSPSS does not claim any intellectual contribution to your project or its report. Authorship remains the researcher's.
Your Research Decisions The aims of the project, the substantive interpretation of the findings, the discussion and the conclusions remain yours, with overall responsibility.
Confidential Handling Research data and project details are handled confidentially, project information is not published, and an NDA is available where required.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions About Support for a Single Research Project
Projects rarely bring in a statistician at the ideal moment, so the first answers concern late involvement and support for a single stage.
What does statistics support for a research project include?
Statistics support for research projects at OnlineSPSS covers the statistical work of one project: reviewing or drafting the design and analysis plan, preparing the data, carrying out the analysis, preparing tables and figures, and interpreting the results within the limits of the design. Each part answers to the same research questions, so the plan, the tables and the interpretation can be checked against one another.
Is it too late to involve a statistician once the data are collected?
No. Support after data collection is common and still worthwhile: the design is reviewed and the analysis plan is written against the data that exist, with the limits of what can no longer be changed stated openly. Some choices, such as the sample size, are fixed by then, and their effect on precision is shown in the intervals and not hidden.
Can support cover just one stage, such as the interpretation?
Yes. A scope may cover a single stage, such as planning, the analysis, or the interpretation of results you already have. The assessment looks at the materials from the other stages to make sure the chosen stage fits what came before it, and the scope states which parts are included.
How is interpreting p-values and confidence intervals handled in a project?
Each result is read against its research question through the estimate and its confidence interval, with the p-value treated as one part of that reading and statistical vs practical significance kept apart. What a non-significant result means is stated as an estimate compatible with a range of effects, not as evidence of no effect, and the notes state what the design supports, for instance an association or a causal effect, and what remains uncertain. The statistician explains the results, and the substantive interpretation and the conclusions of your report are written by you.
How do you protect my research data and confidentiality?
Your data and project details are handled confidentially, and project information is not published. Researcher names and institutions are not used publicly without permission. An NDA is available where required and can be arranged before sensitive materials are shared. Read more about confidentiality and data security.
What happens when I request an assessment, and how long does it take?
You share your research question, design and relevant materials, such as the protocol, a data dictionary and any output you already have, and a statistically trained Research Coordinator reviews the request and responds the same day. The analysis, deliverables, timeline and one fixed project fee are then confirmed before any work begins, so the timeline follows from the agreed scope.
Still have a question? Find more answers in our full FAQ.
NEXT STEP
Name the Stage
Your Project Has Reached
Support can start at the design, the dataset, the output or the interpretation, and the materials from earlier stages show how far the work before it can be relied on.
No Commitment Required
Strictly Confidential
Fixed Project Fee
In-House PhD-Level Statisticians
Same-Day Response
Serving Researchers Since 2014