Stat Helpers

Thesis and Dissertation Assistance

Are you working on a quantitative thesis or dissertation in Education or the Social Sciences?
We can provide one-on-one guidance through the process.

The thesis or dissertation process should be a culmination of what you have learned in your program, but it is not uncommon for students to feel uncertain about their statistical abilities. A few courses in methodology may not prepare you for undertaking your own full-scale study. Likewise, your committee should be present to guide and support you, but it is typically not their role to teach you about the nuances of methodology, solve data preparation and software-related issues, interpret results, or help with formatting tables. If any of these issues are anxiety-inducing for you, that's where we can help.


Methodology Assistance

You may have settled upon your ideal research questions, but how are you going to conduct your study? We can work together with you in navigating data sources and the data request and collection process. We will also make sure that your research questions and anticipated data match your proposed statistical tests.


Survey Design and Deployment

If you're ready to deliver a survey to gather your data, don't hesitate to contact us first. Students who are not well-versed in survey design and deployment may make critical errors that can affect both return rate and the quality of the data for subsequent analysis. When it comes to data collection, you (typically) only have one opportunity, so we can help you make the most of it.

Additionally, if you're going to deploy a survey via web-based methods, we can assist with the administration as well! Depending on the scope and structure of your survey, we can host your data collection on our own server located in the StatHelpers office using a straightforward, customizable instrument. Opposed to other web-based collection methods, you'll have the benefits of security, frequent automatic backups, and a familiar point of contact when you have questions or need alterations.


Analytical Help

Once you've collected your data, what happens next? We can help guide you past a variety of barriers at this stage.

Data Input, Cleanup, and Formatting

Perhaps you had no choice but to administer a paper survey. We are willing to input the results electronically in an analysis-friendly format. Likewise, manipulating the results of online-based collection formats or secondary datasets can often be a time-consuming and frustrating task as well. We can provide instruction to you in this area or perform the cleanup and formatting ourselves.

Statistical Computing

The StatHelpers team is extensively trained in the use of both SAS and SPSS. In conducting your analysis, we are fully flexible in either teaching you how to appropriately use these tools or running the appropriate tests together with you.

The following list of analytical methods is by no means exhaustive of the services with which we can provide assistance, but represents some of the more common methods.

We take pride in our careful analyses. We pay attention to assumptions and possible data anomalies and will teach you why it is important to note these underlying issues. Most importantly, we teach you what it all means. This attention to detail will give you extra confidence in defending your work.

Interpretation

Students who are comfortable with the statistical software packages often get stuck at the output. Numerically, what do all of those values mean? How do these results translate to outcomes of your study? Although you are fully responsible for writing your results, we can help you navigate through the heavy statistical dialogue to promote a better understanding of your results.


Formatting and Proofreading

The StatHelpers team is knowledgeable in APA formatting and understands the value of a clear, concise table in formatting your results. Each institution has different additional rules and requirements for formatting-related issues, but we can work with you in making sure your hard work in analyzing your results not only meets requirements but looks professional as well. Yes, we actually enjoy putting numbers in formatted tables, and are happy to provide you with this service.

We will gladly proofread your analytically-related work, making sure all of your statistical terms read appropriately in plain English. Don't let an easily correctable error distract your committee members from the importance of your results.


If any of these services can be beneficial to the efficient completion of your thesis or dissertation, please contact StatHelpers today!