Services & Fees

Our goal is to provide quality statistical consulting to our clients in a way that provides education and experience to our students. We incorporate the work into our Statistical Consulting class. Here is our ideal consulting project work cycle:

1. Initial Consultation: Client comes to our consulting class and discusses the details of the project with the director live in front of the class.
2. Statistical Work: The project (or suitable parts) is assigned to a group(s) in the class. The director or staff supervises the analysis and performs any additional analyses themselves.
3. Delivering Results: When complete, the director or designated group member(s) present the final product to client.

The difference between conventional consulting and our model is that we bring students into the loop as a part of their education. As a result, we will attempt to schedule initial consultations during class time, or times when the director and assigned students can meet. We recognize that this may not always be possible, and we will work with the individual circumstances of clients. The critical features of the work cycle are:

1. Initial Consultation: Problem is operationalized and terms are agreed upon (approximate completion time and form of deliverables, see Cost section for donation information).
2. Statistical Work: Client understands students will be involved in the work.
3. Delivering Results: Deliverable(s) will be provided to clients in the manner agreed upon in initial consultation (or later revision).

In some cases, suitable jobs may involve students in other classes such as Business Analytics or Computer Science. Details will be agreed upon during the initial consultation.

1. Design
   We assist in designing surveys, designing experiments and advising on valid data collection approaches.
2. Analysis
   We analyze existing data from clients, as well as from studies we designed for clients. We can do all classical statistical methods and standard machine learning methods. Specifics will be negotiated during the initial consultation. The primary software we use are: R, Python, Tableau, SPSS and Excel.
3. Reporting
   We will provide a written report, slide presentation, or whatever the client requests for the deliverable(s).

We do not consult on student homework or projects, whether undergraduate or graduate. We do, however, consult on graduate research, such as Talbot dissertations.

For further information on what to expect when working with a statistician, please view the Section on Statistical Consulting (PDF) from the American Statistical Association.

As a non-profit organization, we have two fee options: a donation or a contracted rate. If you choose the donation option, the rate is up to you. If you choose the contracted rate, the cost for each job will be provided to the client in a memorandum of agreement following the free initial consultation. The cost will be based on the estimated amount of time to complete the job, along with any required resources. On-campus clients receive 10 free consulting hours per semester. In service to God, we do not charge Christian ministries.