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Statistical Consulting
Our approach emphasizes the following principles:
- The statistician must be willing to provide explanations the client can
understand, in order that the client may confidently defend decisions
based on statistical advice.
- Statistics is a discipline designed for real-world application, as
opposed to a theoretical discipline.
- Good social skills facilitate effective statistical consultation.
- No real-life situation fits a statistical method perfectly - the goal of
the statistical consultant is to provide expert judgment to the client
about what degree of imperfection is practical for their needs.
- The statistician must be willing to learn something of the client's
application area to provide effective advice.
- Statistical advice will always be delivered in a tactful, but honest
fashion.
- It is a violation of professional ethical principles for a statistician
to knowingly falsify results or collaborate in substantive
misrepresentations of statistical analyses. The goal of every statistician
is to prevent the use of statistics to mislead or to obscure the
truth.
- Computer programming performed as a part of statistical analysis must
be documented and quality controlled in a thoughtful fashion just as
with software designed for other purposes.
Last modified: 12:39:45 23-Jan-2009