Statistics 551: Consulting Practicum
Students enrolled in STAT 551 will gain hands-on consulting experience by meeting with clients, carrying out data analysis, writing reports, and keeping track of hours spent on each case. Students are expected to enroll in STAT 551 as soon as possible and to remain enrolled until successfully obtaining a "Pass" and 3 credits (representing about 150 hours of effort).
Students have the option of seeing case studies before meeting clients and being responsible for cases. With the consent of the instructor, students can enroll in STAT 551 before or at the same time as STAT 550 if they feel this would be a useful learning experience. The 3 credits for 551 could be completed in just one term or over several terms. Taking 551 over several terms is especially beneficial to students lacking exposure to statistical applications.
Students can start STAT 551 by attending weekly 551 meetings as well as selected SCARL staff meetings, but they will not normally be allowed to meet clients until they have completed the formal prerequisites for STAT 551: STAT 550 and the written language requirements.
At the end of each term until a "Pass" is granted, students will receive a "T" grade indicating continuation in the course. Until successfully obtaining a "Pass", students accumulate credit for time spent:
- attending 551 or SCARL meetings,
- working on SCARL projects.
Students are responsible for keeping a record of their cases and projects in the course in order to claim credit. At the end of each term, the student is responsible for obtaining the approval of the 551 instructor for the "credit" accumulated that term. The credits can only appear on the transcript after successful completion of the entire course.
Oral and written communication skills are important for statistical consulting. Upon completion of STAT 551, a student should:
- be comfortable working with subject-area investigators on statistical problems,
- have exposure to a variety of subject-area "clients" and a variety of disciplines where statistics is used,
- be able to clearly present a client project and discuss it with statisticians,
- be able to write project reports for a statistical audience and client reports that summarize statistical advice and findings for a subject-area audience.
To obtain a "Pass", students are expected to:
- attend STAT 551 meetings,
- be primarily responsible for at least 4 clients with presentation of their cases for discussion in 551 or SCARL meetings,
- have accumulated at least 2 written reports for clients and at least 2 significant project reports.
