Education

Spectrum, in association with the Department of Biomedical Data Science - Center for Innovative Study Design (CISD), offers a free one-hour consultation for help with all aspects of study design, including ethics, biostatistics and data collection.

Discussion topics of interest:

• Statistical design, sample size and power
• Statistical analysis of preliminary data (limited availability)
• Other data management issues (e.g. validation) – data entry services not available
• Advice on analyzing data
• Statistical analysis of data (limited availability)
• Formulating a statistical analysis plan
• Organizing your data for capture into a database
• Statistical support for Data Safety Monitoring Board (limited availability)
• Advice on responding to journal review
• Help in designing a cancer clinical protocol

Prior to your appointment:

• Review Guidelines for Pre-Award Statistical Consultation with SPCTRM (pdf)
• In order to assist you with preparing your data collection tools, see Guidelines for Describing Data as it Relates to Data Collection and Analysis. These codes will help you, and if applicable, your biostatistician when it is time to evaluate/analyze the data. – Data Submission (pdf)
• Example for building your code book/data dictionary – Sample Form (pdf)
• Data collection code book – Variable Information (xls)

Resources:

• Clinical Trial Methodology and Software  (Locally developed methodologies and software)
• Request a consultation. 
  Your initial consultation should be scheduled through the Study Navigator website.
• Study Design Workshop.
  The Study Design Workshop (SDW) provides an opportunity for biomedical researchers who are designing a study to meet with members of the biostatistics staff at Stanford and collaboratively develop a research plan.
  
  The researchers typically provide a brief orientation to the problem they are trying to solve and then have a collegial conversation with world class experts on all aspects of study design including sample size, statistical analysis methods and data management. The conversations always center around the idea of how to design the optimal study, which will afford the opportunity to make inferences to the world using as few subjects as possible.
  
  Researchers leave the SDW with well thought through, specific aims and the core methods sections needed for preparing grants and conducting a successful research project.
  
  The SDW forms long term teams to assure that biostatisticians can see a study through to its completion.

To participate as a mentor or a trainee, contact:

Ying Lu, Ph.D.
Co-Director, CISD
email: ylu1@stanford.edu