The ASRM Research Consulting Lab
Samantha Estrada and Annie Lu
Fall 2013
What is the Research Consulting Lab?
• Lab staffed by ASRM graduate students
• Place to receive help on quantitative and
qualitative research projects
• Free service for UNC students
• Computer lab loaded with statistical software
(e.g., SPSS, SAS, R, GPower, NVivo)
Planning Your Study
• Research question(s)
– Too broad
– Too many
• Research design
– Participants
– Procedures
– Methods
• Appropriate statistical analysis
• Provide suggestion on how to set up your data
file (e.g., format, missing data, code book)
After Data Collection
• Data cleaning and management
– It could be time consuming
• Preliminary analysis
– Descriptive statistics
– Psychometrics (e.g., reliability and factor analysis)
• Statistical analysis
– Appointments may be needed
What to Bring
• Your research questions
• For survey research, bring a copy of your
questionnaire
• Description of variables
– Conceptual description
– Operational definition (how they were/will be
measured)
• Data file
– In raw form
– Excel file is preferred
General Recommendations
• Consultants are there to assist you, not to
perform analysis
– It is a learning process for you
• Give yourself plenty of time (do not show up a
week before the deadline of your project!!!)
– Several sessions may be required
– Consultant may need some time (a few days - a
week) to consider the problem
Location
• McKee Hall 537
• Phone: 351-1684 or by appointment
• Hours (Fall 2013): Monday-Friday 8am - 8pm
Sunday
2pm - 8pm
• The Mathematics and Science Teaching
Institute (MAST):
• ROSS 1210
• Monday – Friday 9am – 11am, 2pm – 4pm
“To consult the statistician after an experiment
is finished is often merely to ask him to conduct
a post mortem examination. He can perhaps say
what the experiment died of.“
- Sir Ronald A. Fisher, 1938