Stat 690: Statistical Consulting

Logistics

Meetings: Tuesdays 3:55-6:25, SE 220

Website: http://jfukuyama.github.io/teaching/stat690

Course description

The objectives of this course are to allow students to practice the following skills:

• Translating client requests into statistical analysis plans.
• Implementing analysis plans.
• Communicating results verbally, in writing, and graphically.

Weeks 2-14 will focus primarily on the first two objectives through a series of mock consulting projects. Each student will lead several projects, with the class collaborating on the analysis plan and implementation.

Each project will have three stages:

• Stage 1 (Week n, in class): The professor will act as the client, and the project leader will act as the consultant in a simulated client meeting. By the end of this meeting, the consultant should be able to articulate the client’s question and the client’s understanding of the data-generating process.
• Stage 2 (Between weeks n and n+1, at home): The project leader develops an analysis plan to present and defend in the next class. They may also try out elements of their proposed analysis.
• Stage 3 (Week n+1, in class): The student leader presents and defends an analysis plan. To facilitate discussion with the class, this will be done without slides. Paper notes are acceptable. We will discuss this plan, focusing on the rationale, how well aligned the project is with the client’s question, and whether the analysis accords with the data-generating process. Once a plan is agreed upon, we will implement as much of the analysis as possible in R. This will include exploratory analysis, data quality checks, data processing, and model fitting or hypothesis testing. The project leader will guide this process, with input and questions from the class and professor.

Week 15 (the last class period) will be devoted to presentations of your final projects. The goal is to give you practice verbally describing the results of your analysis.

Course schedule

• Week 1: Introductions, syllabus, etc. Talk through the consulting skeleton. Project 1 initial client meeting.
• Weeks 2-14: Mock projects
• Week 15: Final presentations

Assessment

Grades will be based on:

• Performance as lead consultant: 40%. You will lead several consulting problems during the semester. I will assess your overall ability to understand the problem, choose and justify an analysis, and implement a reasonable analysis.
• Participation in class when you are not the leader: 20%. When you are not the leader, you will be expected to provide suggestions and comments for the analysis. This can be either conceptual or it can have to do with implementation.
• Final presentation + writeup: 40%. Presentation scheduled for last class day, final project writeup due Tuesday, December 15. Guidelines here. There will be no final exam, only the writeup for the project. You are not prohibited from using generative AI, but points will be taken off for every incorrect statement present in the report. Be sure to only write things that you really believe are true.

Attendance and missed work

Regular attendance is important because much of the work of the course consists of live consulting meetings, discussion, and collaborative analysis that cannot be fully reproduced from written course materials. Attendance itself is not graded, but participation in these activities is part of the course assessment.

If you need to miss a class in which you are not the project leader, you are not ordinarily required to make up the missed class activity. Repeated absences, however, may make it difficult to demonstrate the level of participation expected for the course.

If you need to miss a class in which you are scheduled to serve as project leader, please contact me as early as reasonably possible. Because the project sequence depends on the leader conducting a simulated client meeting and guiding the subsequent analysis, we will need to make alternative arrangements. In cases of illness, religious observance, a university-sponsored activity, or another serious circumstance, I will work with you to find a reasonable way for you to complete the relevant course responsibilities.

If circumstances affect the final presentation or final project deadline, please contact me as early as reasonably possible. Because the final project is due near the university’s grade-submission deadline, extensions may be limited except in cases involving an approved accommodation or serious extenuating circumstances.

Accommodations

Students requiring accommodations should contact IU Bloomington Accessible Educational Services at iubaes@iu.edu or visit the AES website. Please provide me with your accessibility memorandum as early as possible so that we can make appropriate arrangements.